The
University of Strasbourg in
Strasbourg,
Alsace,
France, is the largest university in France, with 43,000 students and over 4,000 researchers.
The present-day French university traces its history to the earlier German language University of Straßburg, which had been founded in 1631, and was divided in the 1970s into three separate institutions:
Louis Pasteur University,
Marc Bloch University, and
Robert Schuman University. On 1 January 2009, the fusion of these three universities recreated a united University of Strasbourg
University Palace, main building of the former Imperial University of Strasbourg
The Gallia building, formerly Germania, seat of the Regional Student's Service Centre
Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science
History
The university emerged from a
Lutheran humanist German
Gymnasium , founded in 1538 by
Johannes Sturm in the
Free Imperial City of Strassburg. It was transformed to a university in 1631.
The German university still persisted even after the annexation of the City by
King Louis XIV in 1681, but mainly turned into a French university during the
French Revolution.
The university was refounded as the German
Kaiser-Wilhelm-Universität in 1872, after the
Franco-Prussian war and the return of
Alsace-Lorraine to Germany provoked a westwards exodus of Francophone teachers. In 1918 Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France, so a reverse exodus of Germanophone teachers took place.
During
World War II, when France was occupied, personnel and equipment of the University of Strasbourg was transferred to
Clermont-Ferrand. In its place, the short-lived German
Reichsuniversität Straßburg was created.
In
1970, the university was subdivided into three separate institutions:
These were however reunited in
2009, a process that should finish in
2012, and were able to be among the first twenty French universities to gain greater autonomy.
Buildings
The university campus covers a vast part near the center of the city, located between the "Cité Administrative", "Esplanade" and "Gallia" bus-tram stations.
Modern architectural buildings include: Escarpe, the Doctoral College of Strasbourg, Atrium, Pangloss and others.
The structures are depicted on the main inner wall of the Esplanade university restaurant, accompanied by the names of their architects and years of establishment.
The administrative organisms, attached to the university (Prefecture; CAF, LMDE, MGEL -- health insurance; SNCF -- national French railway company; CTS -- Strasbourg urban transportation company), are located in the "Agora" building.
Notable academics and alumni
See also
