University of Vienna

The University of Vienna is the third oldest institution of higher education in Europe and the oldest in the entire German-speaking space. It was founded on March 12, 1365. Alma Mater Rudolphina Vindobonensis was given its Latin name by its founder, Duke Rudolph IV.

Since 1385, the university has been conducting educational activities. Despite the military conflicts in the region and the siege of Vienna by the Turks in the XVI century, the university was not closed, although it sometimes studied only a few dozen people. In 1897, women were allowed to enter the Faculty of Philosophy. Among the graduates of the university there are famous politicians and cultural figures, Nobel laureates, religious figures, scientists with a world reputation.

The main building of the modern university was built in the 80s of the XIX century by the architect Heinrich von Ferstel in the style of the Italian Renaissance. Opposite it stands a 9-meter obelisk, erected to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the liberation of Vienna from the Turks. The building houses a library, several institutes, auditoriums and a hall for solemn events, where graduates are awarded diplomas every year. More than 60 university buildings are scattered throughout the city.