Enlightenment of the World.
Saxony and the Rise of Modern Sciences
Exhibition for the Sixth Centenary Celebration of the University of Leipzig in 2009
July 9th to December 6th, 2009
Altes Rathaus
The exhibition has been arranged as a highlight for the sixth centenary celebration of the University of Leipzig. The focus lies on the era of enlightenment in the late 17th and 18th century with its central relevance for science and education. When students and magister from Prague moved to Leipzig in summer 1409 they were supported by the wettin lords and the city to found a new university. Finally the ‘Alma mater Lipsiensis’ was inaugurated on 2. December 1409 in the dining hall of the Thomas monastery. Today in 2009 the university is celebrating its sixth centenary. The University of Leipzig is the second oldest university in the territory of today’s Germany which was continually opened. Concerning the number of students and masters it was also one of the biggest universities in Germany. During the six hundred years of its existence it enriched the intellectual, public and economic life of the city.
During the Age of Enlightenment the city of Leipzig was at the heart of scientific developments. The university has made important contributions to the development of new academic disciplines. The focus of the exhibition lies on spectacular inventions in the natural sciences and electricity and new developments in the humanities. They formed the basis of modern society.
About 700 unique and fascinating objects represent the sciences and the intellectual life at the ‘Alma mater Lipsiensis’. Special loans from libraries and museums complete the treasures of the collections of the University of Leipzig. They illustrate the cooperation of the city and it’s region and furthermore the international connections of the university.
An exhibition of Universität Leipzig in cooperation with the Stadt Leipzig and the Sächsische Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig.
Further information www.erleuchtung-der-welt.de |
