University Of Munich, Bayern, Germany

Get an idea of who we are - the university in the heart of Munich. Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München is one of the leading research universities in Europe, with a more than 500-year-long tradition. The University is committed to the highest international standards of excellence in research and teaching.

Having obtained a Papal brief from Pius II, Duke Ludwig IX (the Wealthy) of Bavaria-Landshut founds the first university in the Bavarian heartlands (Altbayern) in Ingolstadt. The official inauguration took place on 26 June 1472, but the institution (die Hohe Schule zu Ingolstadt) had received its first students in March of that year. As well as the Duke himself, many eminent guests attended the opening ceremony, including the learned counsellor Dr. Martin Mair, who was the principal speaker.

Konrad Celtis (1459–1508) was one of the first and most prominent representatives of Renaissance humanism on the faculty, although taught in Ingolstadt only from 1492 until 1497. Celtis, whose family name was Bickel or Pickel, was a much-travelled scholar, and had moved from Prague to Ingolstadt, where he initially served as a lecturer in Rhetoric and Poetics. He is especially remembered for his widely influential oration on German Humanism, delivered before the Faculty of Law. However, Celtis was often absent from his post in Ingolstadt, and on the invitation of Emperor Maximilian, he left to take up a position at Vienna University in March 1497.