A Tour of an Unknown University

 The aim of a guided tour offered by the Badische Zeitung as part of their BZ vacation campaign was to visit out-of-the-way or hidden-from-view places at Freiburg's university.

Our group's* guide was Rudolf-Werner Dreier. He is the retired head of communications and press spokesman for the university and the university hospital, and recently wrote a book "Universität Freiburg."
*we were 27

©Thomas Kunz/BZ

The meeting point was at the Uniseum, the small museum of the university, where Mr. Dreier gave an introduction.

Above are some basic facts and current data. Read more about the foundation of the Albertina in German.

Standing wide-legged, Red Baron listens skeptically as usual (©Thomas Kunz/BZ)

The second point of our visit was the university church. This is a known place, but not so often visited these days. The church was part of the former Jesuit convent.

Starting in 1577, Freiburg's university resisted the influence of the Jesuits for more than 40 years. But in the early days of the 30-Years' War and with the universities of Basel, Strasbourg, and Tübingen dominated by Protestants, the defensive struggles no longer stood a chance. The "Sozietät" fathers began teaching the "right faith" in 1620. The University of Freiburg became the bulwark of Catholicism on the Upper Rhine. You may like to learn more about the struggle in German.

The Jesuit church, built in the baroque style of the Counter-Reformation, was consecrated in 1701. After the abolition of the Jesuit Order in 1773, the church passed to the University of Freiburg in 1793. It was destroyed during the war and rebuilt without baroque frills at the end of the nineteen fifties.

Today the interior is dominated by the five-and-a-half-meter monolithic Christ figure hanging from a steel girder. In the beginning, Franz Gutmann's sculpture showing a huge crown of thorns instead of a head caused fierce controversies. That is long forgotten.

With Napoleon's creation of the Grand Duchy of Baden, the university's existence was in danger for financial reasons.

However, Karl von Rotteck's argument that it would be good to have a Protestant (Heidelberg) and a Catholic university on the territory of the state of Baden convinced the ruler. Today Freiburg's university is called Albertina-Ludoviciana out of gratitude to Grand Duke Ludwig.

The next stop was the third floor of the new University Library (UB). Mr. Krause, head of the University Media Center, proudly showed us batteries, audio recording equipment, and professional cameras that students can borrow for video productions of a thesis. 

The university produces a radio program and television films in the UB's audio and TV studios.

Fourth stop, the Haus zu lieben Hand. In the late Middle Ages, the rich monasteries in Freiburg's surroundings had residences in the city. With the secularization at the beginning of the 19th century, the buildings often fell to the university.

For example, the Haus zur lieben Hand served as a town residence for the provost of the Benedictine monastery of St. Gall, who had his duty station in Ebringen. The building is now used for colloquia and symposia. The cellar of the house is still preserved in its original state.

Another example is the Peterhof, the last stop of our guided tour. The extensive building complex was the town residence of the abbot of the monastery of St. Peter in the Black Forest. It now holds university offices.

©Joergens.mi/Wikipedia

The former residence chapel was preserved and is now used by Freiburg's Greek Orthodox community.

Conclusion: To Red Baron these places were neither out-of-the-way nor hidden-from-view. Except for the audiovisual facilities of the university library, I had already visited them all. Well, it doesn't hurt to see them again occasionally.

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