1818- 2018
October 18, 2018 - Ceremony with Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in the World Conference Center Bonn

200 years University of Bonn

"Today, the University of Bonn proudly looks back on 200 years of history. Above all, it can be proud of how far it has come in these 200 years - and what it contributes to the reputation of this city, to the innovative ability and prosperity of this country.”

With these words, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, congratulated our alma mater on her birthday, at the highlight oduring the anniversary ceremony on October 18th 2018. On this day it had been exactly 200 years ago that King Friedrich Wilhelm III. of Prussia had signed the founding charter of the University of Bonn.

For an entire year, we celebrated this great anniversary extensively with university members, our partners, supporters and the population of the city and region.

In addition to looking back on 200 years of history, it was above all a look into the future, on the great societal challenges of our time, that made up most of the program in the four themed quarters.

Numeros people have contributed to making the more than 200 events - lectures, panel discussions, exhibitions, campaign weeks and much more - such a great success. Our heartfelt thanks go out to all of you! In the meantime we have begun to write the next chapters in Bonn's university history. In 2018, we were able to successfully acquire six excellence clusters as part of the federal and state government's excellence strategy. Since July 2019, we are one of eleven excellence universities and associations in Germany, making us the most successful university in the entire competition. This is another milestone in our 200-year history and above all for the future of our university. This success was possible because the "we", the first word of our founding charter from 1818 and the keynote of our anniversary year, is more than ever at the core of our university self-image. I hope that it is this spirit of commonality with which we will now also tackle the tasks and challenges that lie ahead of us.

I'm looking forward to it!

Professor Dr. Dr. h.c. Michael Hoch

Rector of the University of Bonn

Numerous impressions and all information about the anniversary celebration and the anniversary year can be found on our homepage at www.200jahre.uni-bonn.de.


The evolution of the WE feeling

A large, curved "We" with rich ornamentation dominates the founding certificate of the University of Bonn. It is shown here behind one of the four Towers of the main building of the university.
A year in the sign of the WE © Uni Bonn

"We, Frederick William by the Grace of God, King of Prussia..." - It was a good day for Bonn when Frederick William III put his signature to the founding certificate of the University of Bonn. The large, curved "We" with rich ornamentation dominates the document. It can be seen today in the University of Bonn Museum.

With the "we" in pluralis majestatis, a success story began. The new university grew into a worldwide academic community that also overcame war and crises and finally achieved the highest academic honours. A community that is as aware of its Rhenish roots as it is of its global responsibility. For whom integration and togetherness are not empty formulas, but daily lived practice.
Today, the "we" stands for the academic university family of about 36,000 students, 550 professors, about 5,500 employees of the university and another 5,000 in the university hospital, as well as the approximately 200,000 living alumni worldwide. And, of course, it also includes all the citizens in Bonn and the region who are connected to and support their University of Bonn.


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