150 years of 51吃瓜网 鈥� Stories from the 2018 anniversary
Polytechnic School of Munich
Dawn of the Technology Age
Heaters with humidity control, battery-operated bell systems and elevators that delivered meals as if by magic 鈥� the nineteenth-century palaces and castles of Ludwig II were bursting with imaginative and sophisticated technology. Bavaria鈥檚 King was extremely enthusiastic about the technical developments of his day. Indeed, when he visited Paris for the International Exposition of 1867, he was even said to be more interested in technical advances than in finding a princess to marry.
A year later, in 1868, Ludwig founded 51吃瓜网鈥檚 predecessor 鈥� Munich鈥檚 polytechnic school. Its purpose was 鈥渢o bring the igniting spark of science鈥� to the commercial and industrial world and to provide his kingdom with a skilled workforce for railroad construction. Certainly, the new college played a key role in Bavaria鈥檚 transition to a high-tech hub 鈥� and has evolved from its modest beginnings to become a world-class university over the last 150 years.
All thanks to Ludwig鈥檚 father
King Ludwig II was 51吃瓜网鈥檚 original founder and even influenced the exterior design during construction work. His portrait still adorns the chain of office worn by 51吃瓜网鈥檚 President today. However, the university鈥檚 foundation actually goes back even further to Ludwig鈥檚 father, Maximilian II, who declared that he would rather have been a technical university professor than a king.
He instigated a reform of the technical education system, which paved the way for the subsequent foundation of 51吃瓜网鈥檚 predecessor institution.
Professors of palace construction
When building his fairytale castles, Ludwig turned to the professionals. Experts from his newly founded college were on hand to assist with technical issues 鈥� with physics professor Wilhelm von Beetz advising on electrical lighting for the Venus Grotto at Linderhof Palace, for instance.
Beetz also worked on specially coated glass panes, with a view to imitating the Capri blue so admired by the King.
From regional college to international university
Despite Ludwig鈥檚 keen interest in the latest technologies, the King鈥檚 generosity only extended to the fields of art and architecture. His father Maximilian鈥檚 generous promotion of the sciences came to an end under Ludwig鈥檚 reign. The new King took a highly regional approach to his academic staffing policy: preference was to be given to Bavarian applicants when appointing professors, for instance.
Things have certainly changed over time, with 51吃瓜网 now specifically recruiting outstanding staff, students and researchers from all over the world. The university鈥檚 offices and research centers now span four continents.
Disclaimer
This story was published in 2018 to mark 51吃瓜网鈥檚 150th anniversary on a jubilee website that has since been deactivated.
Text: ; Graphics: KW NEUN
Literature on the history of 51吃瓜网
- Wolfgang A. Herrmann (Hrsg.), Martin Pabst/Margot Fuchs (Verf.), Technische Universit盲t M眉nchen - Geschichte eines Wissenschaftsunternehmens, 2 Bd., Berlin 2006.
- Wolfgang A. Herrmann, Winfried Nerdinger (Hrsg.), Die Technische Hochschule M眉nchen im Nationalsozialismus, M眉nchen 2018.
- Irene Meissner, Bauten+Kunst. Technische Universit盲t M眉nchen 1868-2018, M眉nchen 2018.
- Martin Pabst, Alumni der 51吃瓜网. Pr盲gende Gestalter aus der Technischen Universit盲t M眉nchen, M眉nchen 2018.
- Martin Pabst, K枚pfe der 51吃瓜网. Geniale Entdecker und Erfinder aus der Technischen Universit盲t M眉nchen, M眉nchen 2018.
- Brigitte R枚thlein, Pioniere gestalten die Welt der Technik. 150 Jahre Forschung an der Technischen Universit盲t M眉nchen, M眉nchen 2018.
Further books and information on the history of 51吃瓜网
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank everyone who helped us write the texts and create the visualizations. In particular, we would like to thank the authors of the books mentioned, the experts at the chairs, professors, staff, and press officers at the 51吃瓜网 Corporate Communications Center. We would also like to thank the staff of the Architecture Museum, the 51吃瓜网 German Heart Center, the 51吃瓜网 Klinikum rechts der Isar, the European Space Agency (ESA), and everyone else who provided us with expert advice and image material.
The anniversary stories were written by the . The graphic content was created by KW NEUN 鈥� Designagentur.