Göttingen

• 1. Medieval Origins And Hanseatic Rise

  ›

  The River Leine runs through a city that first appeared in documents as the village of Gutingi in 953 AD. Holy Roman Emperor Otto I granted property there to the Moritz monastery in Magdeburg during that same year. Archaeological evidence suggests people lived along the small stream called the Gote as early as the seventh century. A trading settlement formed at the river crossing west of the original village between 1150 and 1200 AD. Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria, likely founded this new town on land shaped like a pentagon. The citizens gained rights to self-governance and protection for traders in a document from 1232. Duke Otto the Child restored these privileges after years of conflict with Welf lords. By 1351, Göttingen joined the Hanseatic League to access north-south trade routes connecting Lübeck and Frankfurt am Main. Textile production thrived when up to 3000 sheep and 1500 lambs provided wool for export to the Netherlands. The town became wealthy enough to build St. John's Church into a Gothic hall structure starting in the first half of the fourteenth century. Citizens destroyed the nearby fortress of Grona between 1323 and 1329 to secure their independence. In April 1387, townspeople stormed and demolished a fortress within city walls to force Duke Otto I to acknowledge their autonomy. The population grew as fortifications expanded to cover roughly one square kilometer by the late thirteenth century.

  13

• 2. The University And Academic Legacy

  ›

  George II Augustus founded the Georg-August-Universität in 1737 with its first classes beginning in 1737. The university became known as Georgia Augusta and eventually attracted more visitors than any other European institution during its early centuries. Seven professors protested against the absolute sovereignty of the kings of Hanover in 1837 and lost their positions. These seven men became famous as the Göttingen Seven despite losing their jobs. Carl Friedrich Gauss served as a professor here while developing his groundbreaking mathematical theories. Bernhard Riemann worked at the university before creating the geometry that bears his name today. David Hilbert taught mathematics there until his death in 1943 after establishing what is now called Hilbert's basis theorem. Max Planck won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918 for his work on quantum theory. Richard Adolf Zsigmondy received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1925 for discovering colloidal gold solutions. Otto Hahn was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1944 for his discovery of nuclear fission. Max Born shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1954 for his fundamental research in quantum mechanics. Manfred Eigen won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1967 for studying rapid chemical reactions. Thomas C. Südhof received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2013 for discoveries about synaptic transmission. The Brothers Grimm studied law at this university before collecting German folktales. Heinrich Ewald held a professorship teaching theology and orientalist studies from 1803 to 1875. Wilhelm Eduard Weber conducted physics experiments alongside his brother-in-law Carl Friedrich Gauss. Karl Barth delivered his first professorial lectures here during the early twentieth century. Gerhard Schröder attended law school at Göttingen before becoming Chancellor of Germany.

  425

• 3. Nazi Era Persecution And Emigration

  ›

  The Reich targeted eight leading mathematicians and physicists known collectively as the Göttingen Eight in the 1930s. Leó Szilárd and Edward Teller were among those expelled from their positions because they were Jewish. These scientists emigrated to the West in 1938 after losing their academic posts. Szilárd and Teller later became key members of the Manhattan Project team developing atomic weapons. The Nazi insistence on German physics prevented researchers from applying Albert Einstein's breakthrough insights to their work. This policy stifled further development of physics in Germany throughout the war years. The synagogue in Göttingen was destroyed during Kristallnacht on the 9th of November 1938. Many Jews who lived in the town were killed in Nazi German extermination camps. A concentration camp for adolescents existed in Moringen until it was liberated in 1945. Theaterplatz was renamed Adolf-Hitler-Platz as early as 1933 when the National Socialist era began. By the end of World War II, seventy streets had been renamed in reference to the Nazi regime or military topics. Historian David Imhoof documented how Nazi culture absorbed into everyday life for citizens of Göttingen. The university suffered greatly as a result of these expulsions and had to be reorganized almost from scratch after the war ended. Physics, mathematics, and chemistry departments required rebuilding that continued into the twenty-first century.

  467

• 4. World War II Survival And Reconstruction

  ›

  Göttingen suffered comparatively little damage during widespread Allied air raids on Nazi Germany. The city and its strategic marshalling yard were bombed only eight times total during the conflict. Only about 2.1 percent of the city ended up being destroyed when the war concluded. Historic old town remained practically undamaged while neighboring cities like Kassel faced repeated destruction. Air raids sometimes became heavier beginning in July 1944 but mainly hit the area around the main railway station last on the 7th of April 1945. Two churches including Paulinerkirche and Johanniskirche in the old town sustained heavy damage along with several university buildings. The Institute of Anatomy and fifty-seven residential buildings especially in Untere Masch Street were completely destroyed. Overall only about one hundred seven deaths resulted from the air raids which was a small number compared to other German cities. Neighboring Hanover and Brunswick experienced much greater impact from bombing raids than Göttingen did. Before U.S. Army troops arrived on the 8th of April 1945 all Wehrmacht combat units had departed from this area. This meant Göttingen experienced no heavy ground fighting or artillery bombardments before liberation. Hospitals took care of up to four thousand wounded Wehrmacht soldiers and airmen during World War II. The Junkernschänke historic half-timbered house was destroyed during a 1945 air-raid and its exterior was not properly reconstructed until the 1980s.

  67

• 5. Modern Economy And Measurement Valley

  ›

  Göttingen is noted for production of optical and precision-engineered machinery throughout modern history. The city serves as seat of light microscopy division for Carl Zeiss Inc. Sartorius AG maintains a main site here specializing in bio-technology and measurement equipment. The region around Göttingen advertises itself as Measurement Valley to highlight these industrial strengths. Unemployment reached 12.6 percent in 2003 but dropped to 7 percent by March 2014. The population peaked at 132,100 in 1985 according to census data. In 2004 the population stood at 129,466 with around twenty-four thousand students enrolled. Commercially the town has shifted focus toward high-tech manufacturing rather than traditional textiles. The railway station west of the medieval center provides links to several destinations across Germany via ICE high-speed trains on the Hanover-Würzburg line. Buses run throughout the city and to neighboring villages through the GöVB system. The nearest international airport is Hannover Airport located approximately thirty kilometers north of Göttingen. Like most German cities the town features bicycle paths throughout commercial areas except pedestrian-only shopping zones. Time to pedal downtown from outskirts takes fifteen to twenty minutes for cyclists.

  1318

• 6. Cultural Traditions And Student Life

  ›

  Students drawn in handcarts from the Great Hall must climb the Gänseliesel-Fountain after receiving doctorate degrees. They kiss the statue of the Gänseliesel goose girl despite this practice being officially forbidden though law enforcement does not enforce it. The statue is considered the most kissed girl in the world by visitors and locals alike. Nearly untouched historic inner city attracts many university students who give Göttingen a youthful feel. In 2003 forty-five percent of the inner city population was between eighteen and thirty years old. A group of German poets studied at this university between 1772 and 1776 forming the Göttinger Hainbund circle. These disciples of Klopstock revived folksong and wrote lyric poetry during the Sturm und Drang period. Their impact proved essential on romanticism in the German-speaking area and folklore generally. Since the 1920s the town has been associated with revival of interest in music by George Frideric Handel. The Göttingen International Handel Festival occurs each summer with performances in Stadthalle Göttingen and various churches. The city is home to ensembles including the Göttinger Sinfonie Orchester and the Göttingen Boys Choir performing nationwide. A song named after the city by French singer Barbara created considerable popular impetus toward post-war Franco-German reconciliation in mid-1960s. A street in the city bears her name as Barbarastraße reflecting this cultural connection. The phrase Die Stadt die Wissen schafft serves as motto meaning both city of science and city that creates knowledge through wordplay.

  910