Founding phase During the
Reformation, numerous citizens and nobles from Styria emigrated to universities in protestant principalities of the
Holy Roman Empire. The Catholic rulers of Styria wanted to counteract this development by drawing up a plan to establish a university in Graz under the leadership of the
Jesuits. The university was founded on January 1, 1585, by Archduke
Charles II of Inner Austria, but it was not until April 14, 1586, that the foundation charter, together with the
scepter and
seal, were ceremoniously presented to the provincial superior of the
Societas Jesu and, at the same time, the first rector, Father Heinrich Blyssem SJ (1526–1586), in the Graz parish church of St. Ägidius, today's
Graz Cathedral. The princely foundation was sealed by a papal and an
imperial letter of confirmation, granting the university
autonomy and special judicial and tax privileges. Originally, the sovereign planned a comprehensive university with four faculties, but initially there were to be only two. The Faculty of
Theology was tasked with creating a new, reliable catholic
clergy, and the Faculty of Arts dealt with the teaching of the
liberal arts (septem artes liberales) – the philosophical disciplines. In 1607, the lecture halls were moved to the new building erected by Archduke
Ferdinand II on the corner of Hofgasse and Bürgergasse, which is now known as the “Old University.” Over time, the originally free-standing building was connected to the college to form a single complex. Classes were held on the ground floor of the building, while the two large rooms on the upper floor served as an auditorium. The Old University in the center of Graz remains virtually unchanged to this day and is used by the provincial government of Styria for representative purposes.
1607 to 1827 As early as the beginning of the 17th century, discussions began about expanding the University of Graz to include a law and medical faculty. However, the Jesuits successfully opposed the establishment of the new faculties for more than 100 years. Nevertheless, from
1648 onwards, the Styrian estates financed a one-year course in
Roman law. After the abolition of the Jesuit Order in
1773, the university was taken over by the state and the Jesuits at the Faculty of Theology were replaced without exception by
secular clergy. The aims of the education were to train loyal civil servants and to impart exclusively practical knowledge. The
Faculty of Law was founded in 1778. The accession to power in the Habsburg Empire by Emperor
Joseph II and the
Josephine reforms he promoted had a major impact on all universities, including the University of Graz. In 1782, it was converted into a
lyceum and thus lost most of its privileges. The number of professorships was limited. At the same time, medical and surgical training was established in Graz, although doctorates were still only possible in the subjects of theology and philosophy. Only lower-level courses were offered in the fields of law and medicine. After the death of Emperor Joseph II, the Styrian estates immediately demanded the reestablishment of the university. After the University of Innsbruck was reestablished in 1826, the Styrian estates also submitted a request for the reestablishment of the University of Graz, including a medical faculty. Emperor
Francis I granted the request and re-established the University of Graz in 1827. This double foundation is the origin of the university's old name, “Karl-Franzens-Universität.”
1827 to 1918 With the exception of the right to award doctorates to lawyers, the university's re-establishment did not bring about any significant changes. At that time, the university had 23 teaching staff and did not improve significantly until 1848. As a result, many students also attended courses at the Joanneum, founded in 1811, the predecessor of today's
Graz University of Technology. Although the
revolutionary year of 1848 was not as turbulent in Graz as it was in Vienna, students and professors at the University of Graz and the Joanneum demanded that the sovereign end censorship and expand freedom of teaching and learning with a high degree of autonomy for the university in accordance with the principles of
Wilhelm von Humboldt. These demands were partially granted by the state parliament on April 3, 1848. In the following years, general study regulations were enacted and separate faculty studies were created. In the 1860s, a further wave of liberalization began. After many years of effort, the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Graz became a reality in 1863, making it a comprehensive university. In 1871, a new university building was approved. The first building was ready for occupancy in 1872, and the new construction was finally completed in 1895 with the opening of the new main building. However, the university administration soon announced that it needed more space. As a result, the university acquired additional building land in the vicinity of the campus until 1914. In 1912, the medical faculty was able to move into the new clinics on the grounds of the provincial hospital Graz. Concrete expansion plans were already in place in 1913, but these were shelved with the outbreak of World War I. In the period before World War I, the University of Graz was home to numerous renowned researchers, such as
Ernst Mach,
Ludwig Boltzmann,
Albert von Ettingshausen,
Hans Groß, and many more. The discoverer of cosmic rays,
Victor Franz Hess, also received his doctorate from the University of Graz in 1906. In 1898, Seraphine Puchleitner became the first woman to be admitted to study at the University of Graz. In 1902, she received her doctorate in geography, becoming the first woman to do so at the University of Graz. In 1905, Oktavia Aigner-Rollett became the first practicing female doctor to receive her doctorate in Graz. The outbreak of the
World War I marked a turning point for the University of Graz, resulting in a significant reduction in student numbers and a drastic cut in financial resources. The era of austerity at universities in Austria was to last for almost 50 years.
First Republic (1918–1933) The first years after World War I were marked by political and economic uncertainty for the University of Graz, which also affected the reputation of science among the population. Research was no longer seen as a means to the end of the
common good, but served the national political goal of advancement. The University of Graz therefore focused primarily on students from Austria, while students from abroad were merely tolerated. The government in Vienna was critical of the autonomy of universities, while the universities themselves tried to preserve it. The University of Graz, for example, established its own “Senate Committee for Political Issues,” which defined the university's position on all political issues. The role of women in science improved somewhat. After the competence of Germanist Christine Touaillon for a habilitation at the Faculty of Philosophy was questioned in 1920 on the basis of her gender, Dora Boerner-Patzelt became the first woman to habilitate in
histology and
embryology at the University of Graz in 1929. A novelty from 1919 onwards was the election of student representatives, which in the following years was marked by competition between
German nationalist and
Catholic representatives. What united both groups, however, was their rejection of students from the
socialist camp. In 1924/25, a list that can be classified as a
National Socialist group ran for the first time. In the 1930/31 student representative elections at the University of Graz, openly National Socialist students from the
NSDStB ran for office for the first time. Between 1931 and 1933, the
Great Depression led to a drastic deterioration in the budgetary situation of all universities. This led to a campaign in the Wiener Zeitung in September 1931 against the “provincial universities” in
Innsbruck,
Graz, and
Leoben, with the closure of the University of Graz even being considered, which led to protests in Graz. The plans were never realized, but a reduction in academic staff could not be prevented. Despite these rigid austerity measures, the universities managed to maintain their autonomy until 1933. After the National Socialists came to power in Germany, the political situation escalated. In May 1933, the
Constitutional Court was abolished, which led to massive resistance from the law faculties of the universities of Innsbruck, Vienna, and Graz. These constant conflicts between the government and the universities ultimately led to the abolition of university autonomy and the dissolution of all student bodies in the summer of 1933. The measure was justified by the influence of the NSDAP on students, which was particularly strong in Graz, among other places.
Dictatorship/Corporative State (1934–1938) From the winter semester of 1933/34 onwards, Austria's universities were completely under the control of the
Austro-Fascist government in Vienna under the responsible minister
Kurt Schuschnigg. In the years that followed, extensive purges took place at all universities in the country, and the University of Graz was no exception, with a third of its professors affected. Furthermore, numerous disciplinary proceedings were brought against students. From 1935 onwards, universities were obliged to ensure that students were educated to become “moral personalities in the spirit of patriotic community.” Around one-fifth of the students at the University of Graz failed these examinations. Despite all this repression, the University of Graz continued to excel in the field of science. Until 1938, Nobel Prize winners
Erwin Schrödinger,
Otto Loewi, and
Victor Franz Hess, among others, conducted research at the University of Graz.
National Socialism (1938–1945) After the “
Anschluss” of Austria in 1938, the universities were immediately brought into line. Large sections of the teaching staff had already been infiltrated by National Socialists and actively contributed to the process of
Gleichschaltung. At the University of Graz, Josef Dobretsberger resigned as rector on March 12, 1938, under pressure from
National Socialist students and teachers. Only three days later, his interim successor, Adolf Zauner, sent words of thanks to
Adolf Hitler for the “long-awaited union with the
German Reich.” In April and May 1938, systematic purges of the teaching staff took place, during which political opponents, “foreign race” teachers, and those “unsuitable in character” were removed. Twenty-one teachers were “suspended” or had their teaching licenses revoked “until further notice,” including Nobel Prize winner
Viktor Franz Hess, a member of the Federal Cultural Council, and ancient historian Franz Schehl. The University of Graz felt compelled to dismiss Nobel Prize winner
Otto Loewi and the regional rabbi and professor of Semitic philology David Herzog on the basis of their Jewish heritage in accordance with the Nuremberg Race Laws. “Politically unreliable” individuals such as the third Graz Nobel Prize winner,
Erwin Schrödinger, who was expelled shortly thereafter, were also forced to leave the university. On the basis of the “Ordinance on the Reorganization of the Civil Service” of June 4, 1938, another wave of purges took place until the end of August. By the end of the Nazi regime, 20 professors, 14 lecturers, and 13 assistants had been dismissed from the University of Graz. Students were also persecuted and expelled on the basis of “racial” and “political criteria.” The number of students fell from 2,015 in the winter semester of 1937/38 to 1,422 in the summer semester of 1939. According to the “Nuremberg Laws,” Jewish citizens were prohibited from enrolling for the summer semester of 1938. Jewish students were still allowed to take their final exams until the end of the summer semester and received their doctorates “quietly,” i.e., without an academic ceremony. After the
Reichspogromnacht in November 1938, Jews were completely excluded from universities. With the start of the
World War II, advertising for attendance at scientific universities was banned throughout the Reich, which also led to a further decline in student numbers in Graz.
Occupation period (1945–1955) Immediately after the end of World War II, the
Allies emphasized the central importance of re-democratizing universities. As institutions that shaped the population and were responsible for education, they were of crucial importance. Accordingly,
denazification was not only aimed at removing sympathizers of the former Nazi regime from public service, but also at conveying the advantages of institutional and intellectual independence to the general population. However, Austria's “
victim myth” made this undertaking considerably more difficult. In addition, anti-Semitism had already shaped employment policy and everyday life among students at the University of Graz in the decades before the Second World War. The initial assessment of the purge commissions was therefore sobering: in 1946, only nine of the 79 professors and private lecturers employed at the University of Graz were deemed to be untainted. By 1947, denazification at Austrian universities had already come to a standstill. In 1948, an
amnesty was granted to suspended university employees, allowing even former Nazis to continue their careers at the University of Graz without difficulty. Professors who had been expelled before the war, on the other hand, were not asked to return to their old positions.
Second Republic (from 1955) The upheaval among professors caused by World War II meant that in the early years of the
Second Republic, many comparatively young professors came to the University of Graz, some of whom remained there until the 1980s, leading to a noticeable generational problem at the university during the period of upheaval in the 1970s. By 1975, the University of Graz had reestablished itself in its traditional organizational structure, which had remained virtually unchanged since 1848. It was not until the sharp increase in student numbers in the 1970s that a fundamental reform of teaching became necessary, which has since been largely supported by the mid-level faculty. The University Organization Act of 1975, which aimed to overcome stagnation at universities, also led to profound changes at the University of Graz, particularly with regard to the composition of committees. Since then, representatives of the non-professorial academic staff, students, and general staff have also been represented in the Senate of the University of Graz. Another consequence of the law was the separation of the Faculty of Natural Sciences from the Faculty of Philosophy and the division of the social sciences and law into two separate faculties. In 1993, the University Organization Act was further amended, which resulted in greater autonomy and transferred budgetary responsibility to the universities. In 2002, the UG2002 led to significant changes at the University of Graz. In addition to adapting degrees in line with the
Bologna Process, the law also provided for the establishment of separate
medical universities. As a result, the medical faculty became an independent university with its main location on the grounds of the state hospital in Graz. In addition, the organizational structure of the universities was comprehensively reformed. In addition to the Rectorate and Senate, the University Council was established, which is composed of equal numbers of representatives from the university and the federal government and is comparable to a supervisory board. In addition, the university buildings were transferred to the ownership of the
Federal Real Estate Company (BIG), which leases them to the universities. The University Act of 2002 formed the basis for the implementation of the Bologna Process, under which studies were gradually converted from diploma programs to the bachelor's-master's system. By 2024, only two four-year-diploma programs were still available for enrollment: Catholic Theology and Law. Another turning point came in 2005, when the European Court of Justice ruled that Austrian universities were not allowed to apply the numerus clausus for German high school graduates, as there is no comparable provision for students from Austria. The University of Graz was therefore forced to impose admission restrictions in the form of entrance exams for several oversubscribed courses. 75 percent of study places are reserved for people with an Austrian high school diploma. In 2007, the sixth faculty was established at the University of Graz: the Faculty of Environmental, Regional and Educational Sciences (URBI). This faculty combines educational sciences with the subjects of environmental systems sciences, geography, and sports. The Wegener Center for Climate and Global Change, founded in 2005, was incorporated into the URBI faculty as an institute in 2013. In the fall of 2022, the University of Graz began construction of its own building at the
Sermilik Research Station in Greenland. The station will be available to polar researchers from spring 2024. Demolition of the so-called pre-clinical building began in fall 2023. The Graz Center of Physics is to be built on the site by 2030, which will house the physics institutes of the University of Graz and the Graz University of Technology.
Culture of Remembrance After the end of World War II, the Nazi era was long suppressed at the University of Graz. This was due to the deep roots of the NSDAP among the student body and professors prior to the Anschluss. The denazification process carried out in the late 1940s brought little change, which prevented an effective reappraisal of the years under Nazi dictatorship. Instead, attempts were made to hide everything that reminded people of this period. One example of this is the fresco by Franz Köck in the student union building, the long-time home of the ÖH. It was commissioned in honor of the National Socialist students and hastily painted over after the end of the war. The portrait of Rector Karl Polheim (1939 to 1945) was also removed from the auditorium. It was not until the 1960s and 1970s that isolated attempts were made to take a more critical look at the role of the University of Graz during the Nazi dictatorship. Nevertheless, university honors continued to be awarded to individuals with Nazi ties without reflection. A symbol of this conflict was the celebration of
Otto Loewis's 100th birthday in 1973. Although the University of Graz was happy to identify with the achievements of the Nobel Prize winner, his expulsion was only briefly mentioned. The 50th anniversaries of the National Socialists' seizure of power in Germany in 1933 and the annexation of Austria in 1938 led to a renewed examination of their own role during the dictatorship at almost all German-speaking universities in the 1980s. In 1984, the so-called “memorial plaque affair” took place in Graz, which marked a turning point for the University of Graz. As part of the university's 400th anniversary celebrations, the umbrella organization of German
nationalist student fraternities had a memorial plaque installed in front of the auditorium to commemorate the victims of “political arbitrariness” between 1934 and 1955. The plaque was unveiled on the national holiday. This sparked fierce protests, directed both against the revisionist plaque itself and against the exploitation of the university's anniversary by German nationalist fraternities. The protests were widely reported in the Austrian media and even caused a stir in federal politics. Numerous organizations demanded that the plaque be removed, including members of the Faculty of Humanities and the ÖH, which covered the plaque in November 1984 in a media-effective manner. The widespread criticism of the university's own attempts to come to terms with its past was a novelty for the University of Graz. At the end of November, the Senate decided to publicly distance itself from the text of the inscription and to revise it to include all victims of war and dictatorship in its historical context. The plaque is still located in the university's auditorium today. The process of coming to terms with Austria's Nazi past began in 1988, 50 years after the Anschluss. In addition to addressing the content, the university also engaged in an artistic examination of the period in the context of several exhibitions. When Franz Köck's Nazi frescoes reappeared during renovation work in 1977, the University of Graz felt compelled to address this chapter of its own history. Instead of painting over the frescoes, it was decided to preserve them as a memorial and break them down artistically. The headings were written by historian Helmut Konrad and artist
Richard Kriesche on a Plexiglas panel in front of the fresco. Since then, the University of Graz has been committed to critically examining its own Nazi past. In 2000, the Center for Jewish Studies was founded. Between 2008 and 2017, 127 books that had been stolen during the Nazi regime were returned to their rightful owners in the university library. The University of Graz website commemorates the expelled and murdered members of the university from this period. In November 2023, stumbling stones were installed on the campus of the University of Graz and the Medical University of Graz in memory of the victims. == Faculties and Institutions ==