The exhibition takes its name from a quote by the historian Karl Lamprecht (1856–1915), who once called his three colleagues in the Department of History “a schemer, a pedant and a beer-fueled genius.” This witticism has provided the inspiration for a closer look at how history at the University of Bonn has evolved in institutional, methodological and personnel terms since the 19th century.
The exhibition was designed by Dr. Simon Ebert, Alma Hannig, Sandra Müller-Tietz and Professor Michael Rohrschneider together with a team of history students. Networks, research fields, biographies and academic controversies will be illustrated across several themed displays, creating a multilayered panorama of the subject’s story in Bonn—from its very early days through to the here and now.
“The exhibition will bring together the history of scholarship and the history of the University and of this department in a vivid and highly visual way,” Michael Rohrschneider says. “And the historic location—inside the bunker—merely serves to amplify the unique way it’s being presented.”
The exhibition is being supported by the Present Pasts Transdisciplinary Research Area, the Bonn University and State Library, the Universitätsgesellschaft Bonn and the University of Bonn Foundation.
Media contact:
Professor Michael Rohrschneider
Phone: +49 228 73-7505
Email: mrohrsch@uni-bonn.de
Contact for guided tours:
Email: unimuseum@uni-bonn.de
More information on the Deutscher Historikertag:
https://www.historikertag.de/Bonn2025/en/