Marburger Wissensräume (Marburg knowledge spaces)

Overview

2D reconstruction 3D / 4D modelling and reconstruction AI Ancient Books Apps / Interfaces for data visualization AR / VR Archaeological or architectural heritage Archive Audiovisual Heritage Cadastral maps Crowdsourcing / Citizens’ science Digital Cultural Heritage Digital Humanities Digital Tourism Digitization of collections Drawings, prints, and other pictorial sources Education / pedagogy Gallery Gamification Historical Documents (e.g. Notarial sources; Census records; Ecclesiastical documents; Correspondence) Library Linked Data Maps Museum Newspapers and magazines Persons data Photogrammetry Photos Social Network Analysis Socio-Economic History Urban History Videos

Abstract

500 years of Philipps-Universität Marburg are more than 500 years of architectural history. Initially, the Protestant university moved into medieval monastery buildings. In the 19th century, numerous new university and hospital buildings were constructed in the city centre, and in the 20th century, the mass university expanded beyond the Lahn, only to recently resume construction activities on the city side.

In the anniversary year 2027, members of the university and the general public will be able to gain insights into research and teaching in interaction with architecture and over the course of time via a geo-referenced web application. This should be possible as a walk through the city, as well as from home, and become an experience through numerous media content (e.g. VR and AR).

Description

In 2027, Philipps-Universität Marburg will be 500 years old. It is considered to be the oldest Protestant university still in existence and is named after its founder, Landgrave Philipp of Hesse (1504-1567). Its first buildings were former monasteries, so the architectural history of Marburg University dates back to the 13th century. The medieval urban development still characterises the university and Marburg in our days. On the one hand, buildings from this period dominate the appearance of the town (e.g. St Elisabeth’s Church, the parish church and the Landgrave’s Palace). On the other hand, the 19th century university architecture, especially the neo-Gothic buildings by Carl Schäfer, was stylistically orientated towards the surrounding medieval town.

After the first three centuries with manageable numbers of students, the university was extensively enlarged in the 19th century, particularly under the Prussians, and this continued into the 20th century. However, the 19th century buildings were barely able to accommodate the sharp rise in numbers of students in the second half of the 20th century. Therefore, new buildings were also erected on the other bank of the Lahn and on the Lahn hills. The Marburg building system used for this became known as the first prefabricated construction method for university buildings. Today, these buildings polarise people with their brutalist architecture. The public, conservation organisations and the university are discussing the post-war modernist building complexes controversially and are looking for concepts for further and subsequent use. At the same time, time is slowly running out to obtain information from contemporary witnesses involved in constructing these the buildings.

In the 21st century, the expansion beyond the Lahn was partially reversed and new buildings were once again located in the city centre as a campus around the old botanical garden, where the university library (2010-2018) in particular is an urban landmark.

Over the centuries, Philipps-Universität has experienced a diverse academic history in a building stock that has gradually grown. The university facilities were and are in constant motion, they change their locations, size and shape. Accordingly, the study and research locations of famous students and professors such as the Grimm brothers, Robert Wilhelm Bunsen, Gottfried Benn and Hannah Arendt are difficult to reconstruct. In general, today there is no idea of what research and teaching looked like in previous centuries and how university architecture has changed.

Yet the unknown and supposedly lost places and knowledge are not only a problem of the past. Many rooms such as laboratories or university collections are difficult or impossible to access. Other buildings are threatened with demolition or closed due to regulations.

The project “Marburger Wissensräume” (Marburg knowledge spaces) aims to look into the architectural and scientific history of the past as well as into spaces of teaching and research that are hidden or closed to many people (e.g. virology). The aim is to compile all existing types of sources, from drafts and archival documents of all kinds to interviews with contemporary witnesses, and to prepare them in equally diverse and inclusive media formats so that, they can be widely experienced. The project is not only a report on students and academics from five centuries, but also actively involves current university members and alumni in the research. The project emerges from the university itself in an integrative way through courses and other forms of participation.

Project partners

With financial support by