History of the University of Tübingen

The University, founded in 1477, builds on more than five centuries of tradition. Key dates:

• 1474 First mention of the University: Count Eberhard the Bearded petitions Pope Sixtus IV for permission to establish a university.
• 1477 Count Eberhard the Bearded founds the University, establishing four faculties - Theology, Law, Medicine, Philosophy
• 1535-36 Founding of the Evangelisches Stift seminary
• 1769 Duke Karl Eugen von Württemberg adds his name to that of the University, making it “Eberhardino-Carolina"
• 1790 – 1793 Hölderlin, Hegel and Schelling are all students at the Evangelisches Stift.
• 1817 Founding of the Economics Faculty and the Faculty of Catholic Theology
• 1863 The first Science Faculty established at a German university
• 1876 Enrollments top 1,000 for the first time
• 1904 Tübingen admits its first female students
• 1977 The University celebrates its 500th anniversary
• 1979 Enrollments pass 20,000 for the first time
• 1997 Opening of the Museum in Schloss Hohentübingen with unique artifacts from prehistory, classical archaeology, ancient Egypt, the ancient Middle East, and cultural anthropology.
• 2007 Establishment of the Werner Reichardt Center for Integrative Neuroscience (CIN) excellence cluster
• 2010 Formation of seven broad-based faculties (Protestant Theology, Catholic Theology, Law, Medicine, the Humanities, Economics and Social Sciences, and Science)
• 2011 Opening of the Center of Islamic Theology, the first of its kind in Germany
• 2012 Success in the German government’s Excellence Initiative with the Graduate School on Learning, Educational Achievement, and Life Course Development (LEAD), the Center for Integrative Neuroscience excellence cluster, and the University’s institutional strategy Research - Relevance - Responsibility.
• 2016 Cyber Valley artificial intelligence cooperation launched in southwest Germany. The collaboration includes the University of Tübingen and other partners from the fields of academia, business and policymaking.
• 2018 Success in the German government’s Excellence Strategy. The three new University of Tübingen Clusters of Excellence are approved – in Infectiology, Cancer Research and Machine Learning.
• 2019 The University of Tübingen is once more selected as one of Germany’s Universities of Exellence under the German government’s Excellence Strategy.
• 2022 For the first time in its history, the University is headed by a woman, Professor Karla Pollmann.

Founding and naming

Count Eberhard the Bearded (gov. 1445-1496), later Duke of Württemberg and Teck, founded the University in 1477. In the foundation document, the Count set out the University’s tasks:

Today’s official name - Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen - was given to the University in 1769 by Duke Karl Eugen, who added his own moniker.
Both today and in the past, the University’s name has been the subject of criticism. You can find the details of why on our corresponding web page.

Where did the palm in the University logo come from?

After returning from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, Count Eberhard the Bearded made the palm tree his personal symbol. Wooden pillars in the Burse, the University’s oldest remaining building, have carved palm trees in them, as well as the Count’s personal motto, which remains the University motto today:

Great names

Many famous people have studied and worked at the University of Tübingen over the centuries: