Editing University of Vienna (section)

==History==
[[File:Opening Proclamation from University Authorities Prior to an Academic Term WDL4315.png|thumb|Opening proclamation prior to 1578 academic term]]

===Middle Ages to the Enlightenment===
The university was founded on March 12, 1365, by [[Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria]], hence the name "Alma Mater Rudolphina".<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=University of Vienna: 650 Years |url=https://www.austrianinformation.org/fall-2015/university-of-vienna-650-years |access-date=2022-05-11 |website=New Austrian |date=13 November 2015 |language=en-US |archive-date=11 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220711170631/https://www.austrianinformation.org/fall-2015/university-of-vienna-650-years |url-status=live }}</ref> After the [[Charles University]] in [[Prague]] (1347) and [[Jagiellonian University]] in [[Kraków]] (1364), the University of Vienna is the third oldest university in Central Europe and the oldest university in the contemporary German-speaking world; it remains a question of definition as the Charles University in Prague was German-speaking when founded, too. However, [[Pope Urban V]] did not ratify the deed of foundation that had been sanctioned by Rudolf IV, specifically in relation to the department of theology. This was presumably due to pressure exerted by [[Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor]], who wished to avoid competition for the [[Charles University in Prague]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mühlberger |first=Kurt |date=2015-02-27 |title=The beginnings of the Alma Mater Rudolphina |language=en |work=650 plus |url=https://geschichte.univie.ac.at/en/topics/beginnings-alma-mater-rudolphina |access-date=2022-12-01 |archive-date=1 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221201184932/https://geschichte.univie.ac.at/en/topics/beginnings-alma-mater-rudolphina |url-status=live }}</ref>

The pope later granted an endowment to the university in 1365, while papal assent was finally received in 1384.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pope Urban V confirms the endowment of the University of Vienna, 18 June 1365 |url=https://www.habsburger.net/en/media/pope-urban-v-confirms-endowment-university-vienna-18-june-1365 |access-date=2023-02-19 |website=Die Welt der Habsburger |language=en |archive-date=23 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221023144110/https://www.habsburger.net/en/media/pope-urban-v-confirms-endowment-university-vienna-18-june-1365 |url-status=live }}</ref> This led to the University of Vienna and its Faculty of Catholic Theology being granted the status of a full university.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pope Urban V confirms the endowment of the University of Vienna, 18 June 1365 |url=https://www.habsburger.net/en/media/pope-urban-v-confirms-endowment-university-vienna-18-june-1365 |access-date=2022-05-11 |website=Die Welt der Habsburger |language=en |archive-date=23 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221023144110/https://www.habsburger.net/en/media/pope-urban-v-confirms-endowment-university-vienna-18-june-1365 |url-status=live }}</ref> The first university building opened in 1385. It grew into the biggest university of the [[Holy Roman Empire]], and during the advent of [[Humanism]] in the mid-15th century was home to more than 6,000 students.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=kniefacz |first=katharina |date=2015-02-27 |title=Renaissance humanism at the University of Vienna |language=en |work=650 plus |url=https://geschichte.univie.ac.at/en/topics/renaissance-humanism-university-vienna |access-date=2022-12-01 |archive-date=1 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221201184938/https://geschichte.univie.ac.at/en/topics/renaissance-humanism-university-vienna |url-status=live }}</ref>

In its early years, the university had a partly hierarchical, partly cooperative structure, in which the [[Rector (academia)|Rector]] was at the top, while the students had little say and were settled at the bottom. The [[Magister (degree)|Magister]] and [[Doctor (title)|Doctor]]s constituted the four faculties and elected the academic officials from amidst their ranks. The students, but also all other Supposita (university members), were divided into four [[Nation (university)|Academic Nation]]s. Their elected board members, mostly graduates themselves, had the right to elect the Rector. He presided over the Consistory which included procurators of each of the nations and the faculty deans, as well as over the University Assembly, in which all university teachers participated. Complaints or appeals against decisions of the faculty by the students had to be brought forward by a Magister or Doctor.<ref name=":3" />[[File:Arkadenhof der Universität Wien-2 1200.jpg|thumb|The courtyard (''Arkadenhof'') of the [[Main building (University of Vienna)|main building]], constructed between 1877 and 1884]]Being considered a Papal Institution, the university suffered a setback during the [[Reformation]]. In addition, epidemics, economic stagnation, and the first [[Siege of Vienna (1529)|Siege of Vienna]] by Ottoman forces had devastating effects on the city, leading to a sharp decline in enrollment. For Emperor [[Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand I]], this meant that the university should be tied to the church to an even stronger degree, and in 1551 he installed the [[Jesuit Order]] there.<ref name=":0" /> As time went on, conflicts between the Jesuit school and the university arose. This led Emperor [[Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand II]], in 1623, to pass a law that incorporated the Jesuit College into the university.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Maisel |first=Thomas |date=2015-02-27 |title=The Society of Jesus and the University of Vienna |language=en |work=650 plus |url=https://geschichte.univie.ac.at/en/topics/society-jesus-and-university-vienna |access-date=2022-05-11 |archive-date=23 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221023044346/https://geschichte.univie.ac.at/en/topics/society-jesus-and-university-vienna |url-status=live }}</ref> It was only in the mid-18th century that the Jesuits lost influence over the university and when Empress [[Maria Theresa]] ensured that the university went under the control of the monarchy. The university would later focus on the education of physicians and civil servants. Her successor [[Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor|Joseph II]] continued her reforms and further liberalized the university, abolishing official attire and allowing both Protestants and Jews to enroll by 1782, as well as introducing German as the compulsory language of instruction the year later.<ref name=":0" />

===Modern history===
[[File:Students riot at the University of Vienna after Nazi attempt to prevent Jews from entering the university.jpg|thumb|Students riot at the University of Vienna after a Nazi attempt to prevent Jews from entering the university ({{c.|1938}})]]
Significant changes were instituted in the wake of the [[Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire|Revolution in 1848]], with the Philosophical Faculty being upgraded into equal status as Theology, Law and Medicine. Led by the reforms of [[Leopold, Count von Thun und Hohenstein]], the university was able to achieve a larger degree of academic freedom.<ref name=":0" /> The current main building on the {{lang|de|[[Ringstraße]]}} was built between 1877 and 1884 by [[Heinrich von Ferstel]]. The previous main building was located close to the ''Stuben'' Gate (Stubentor) on Iganz Seipel Square, the current home of the old University Church (''Universitätskirche'') and the [[Austrian Academy of Sciences]] (''Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften''). Women were admitted as full students in 1897, although their studies were limited to Philosophy. The remaining departments gradually followed suit, although with considerable delay: Medicine in 1900, Law in 1919, [[Protestant]] Theology in 1923, and finally [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] Theology in 1946.<ref name=":5" /> Ten years after the admission of the first female students, [[Elise Richter]] became the first woman to receive ''[[habilitation]]'', becoming professor of [[Romance languages]] in 1907; she was also the first female distinguished professor.

In the late 1920s, the university was in steady turmoil because of anti-democratic and anti-Semitic activity by parts of the student body. Professor [[Moritz Schlick]] was killed by a former student while ascending the steps of the university for a class. His murderer was later released by the Nazi regime. Following the [[Anschluss]], the annexation of Austria into Greater Germany by the [[Nazi regime]], in 1938 the University of Vienna was reformed under political aspects, and a huge number of teachers and students were dismissed for political and "racial" reasons.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://gedenkbuch.univie.ac.at/index.php?L=2 |title=Memorial Book for the Victims of National Socialism at the University of Vienna in 1938 |access-date=26 July 2014 |work=University of Vienna |archive-date=1 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701163511/http://gedenkbuch.univie.ac.at/index.php?L=2 |url-status=live }}</ref> In April 1945, the then 22-year-old Kurt Schubert, later acknowledged [[doyen]] of [[Judaic Studies]] at the University of Vienna, was permitted by the [[Allied-occupied Austria|Soviet occupation forces]] to open the university again for teaching, which is why he is regarded as the unofficial first rector in the post-war period. On 25 April 1945, however, the constitutional lawyer [[Ludwig Adamovich]] senior was elected as the official rector of the University of Vienna. 

A large degree of participation by students and university staff was realized in 1975, however, the University Reforms of 1993 and 2002 largely re-established the professors as the main decision-makers. However, also as part of the 2002 reform, the university, after more than 250 years of being largely under governmental control, finally regained its full legal capacity. The number of faculties and centers was increased to 18, and the whole of the medical faculty was separated into the new [[Medical University of Vienna]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-03-16 |title=MedUni Wien: Facts & Figures |url=http://www.meduniwien.ac.at/homepage/1/content/general-information/facts-figures/ |access-date=2022-12-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160316105128/http://www.meduniwien.ac.at/homepage/1/content/general-information/facts-figures/ |archive-date=16 March 2016 }}</ref>