Leipzig University

Leipzig University (German: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in the German state of Saxony, is one of the world's oldest universities and has engaged in teaching and research without interruption for more than six centuries since its foundation.莱比锡大学（Leipzig University，德语 Universität Leipzig）位于德国萨克森州莱比锡，是世界最古老的大学之一，自创校以来已不间断地开展教学与科研六百余年。

Founded on 2 December 1409 as the Alma mater Lipsiensis and chartered by Pope Alexander V, it is Germany's second-oldest university by consecutive years of existence, after Heidelberg, which was founded in 1386.该校于 1409 年 12 月 2 日以「Alma mater Lipsiensis」之名创办并获教宗历山五世特许，按连续办学年数计是德国仅次于 1386 年海德堡大学的历史第二悠久大学。

With 30,528 students and 14 faculties, and ranked 540th in the world in the QS World University Rankings 2027, Leipzig is associated with 19 Nobel laureates and with 55 former prime ministers and presidents.该校有 30,528 名学生与 14 个学院，在 2027 年 QS 世界大学排名中位列世界第 540 位，与 19 位诺贝尔奖得主及 55 位前总理、总统相关。

History

• Leipzig University was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Elector of Saxony, and his brother William II, Margrave of Meissen, and originally comprised the four scholastic faculties.莱比锡大学由萨克森选帝侯腓特烈一世与其弟迈森藩侯威廉二世于 1409 年 12 月 2 日创办，最初设有四个传统学院。
• It was modelled on the University of Prague, from which German-speaking faculty withdrew to Leipzig after the Jan Hus crisis, and Pope Alexander V chartered the new university on 9 September 1409.该校以布拉格大学为蓝本——胡斯危机后，说德语的师生从布拉格撤往莱比锡；教宗历山五世于 1409 年 9 月 9 日为其颁布特许状。
• Its first rector was Johannes Otto von Münsterberg, and the university opened with the faculties of arts, theology, medicine and law, the last two added in 1415 and 1446 respectively.其首任校长是 Johannes Otto von Münsterberg；创校时设文、神、医、法四个学院，其中医学院与法学院分别于 1415 年与 1446 年设立。
• From its foundation the Paulinerkirche served as the university church, and after the Reformation the church and monastery buildings were donated to the university in 1544.自创校起，保利努斯教堂即作为大学教堂；宗教改革之后，该教堂与修道院建筑于 1544 年一并捐给大学。
• To secure independent funding the university was endowed with lordship over nine villages east of Leipzig, a status it kept for nearly 400 years until 19th-century land reforms.为获得独立经费，大学获授莱比锡以东九个村庄的领主权，这一地位维持近 400 年，直至 19 世纪的土改。
• Like many European universities, Leipzig was structured into colleges such as the Small College, the Large College, the Red College and the Pauliner-College, and private residential halls known as bursen.与许多欧洲大学一样，莱比锡大学按学院组织，设有小型学院、大型学院、红色学院与保利努斯学院等，另有名为「bursen」的私人宿舍。
• Leipzig University students and staff took part in the German March Revolution of 1848, and over the following decades the university grew from a regional institution into a world-class centre of higher education and research.莱比锡大学的师生参加了 1848 年德国三月革命；此后数十年间，该校从一所地区性机构成长为世界一流的高等教育与研究中心。
• Leipzig University was one of the first German universities to admit women as guest students, and in 1873 Johanna von Evreinov became the first woman in Germany to obtain a doctorate in law.莱比锡大学是最早允许女性以旁听生身份入学的德国大学之一；1873 年，Johanna von Evreinov 成为德国首位取得法学博士学位的女性。
• Between 1859 and 1909 the university educated more than 5,500 students from the Balkans, becoming a centre of higher education for the elites of newly independent Romania, Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia.1859 至 1909 年间，该校培养了 5,500 多名来自巴尔干地区的学生，成为新独立的罗马尼亚、希腊、保加利亚与塞尔维亚精英的高等教育中心。
• By the end of the 19th century scholars such as Bernhard Windscheid, a father of the German Civil Code, and Wilhelm Ostwald, a founder of modern physical chemistry, taught at Leipzig.至 19 世纪末，德国民法典的奠基人之一 Bernhard Windscheid 与现代物理化学创始人 Wilhelm Ostwald 等学者均在该校任教。
• In 1923 the Saxon Royal Veterinary School moved from Dresden to Leipzig and was incorporated as the university's Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.1923 年，萨克森皇家兽医学校从德累斯顿迁至莱比锡，并入该校成为兽医学院。
• Under Nazi rule many degrees held by Jewish students were cancelled, and the university remained open throughout the Second World War even after its buildings were destroyed.纳粹统治下，许多犹太学生的学位被取消；即便建筑被毁，该校在第二次世界大战期间仍保持办学。
• By the end of the war 60 per cent of the university's buildings and 70 per cent of its books had been destroyed, and the university reopened on 5 February 1946.到战争结束时，该校 60% 的建筑与 70% 的藏书被毁；大学于 1946 年 2 月 5 日复课。
• In 1948 the freely elected student council was disbanded and replaced by Free German Youth members, and its chairman Wolfgang Natonek was arrested and imprisoned.1948 年，自由选举产生的学生会被解散、由自由德国青年团成员取代，其主席 Wolfgang Natonek 被捕入狱。
• In 1953, for Karl Marx Year, the government of the German Democratic Republic renamed the university the Karl Marx University, Leipzig, a name it bore until 1991.1953 年，为纪念「卡尔·马克思年」，德意志民主共和国政府将该校更名为莱比锡卡尔·马克思大学，这一校名沿用至 1991 年。
• In 1968 the partly damaged Augusteum, including the Johanneum, the Albertinum and the intact Paulinerkirche, was demolished for a redevelopment carried out between 1973 and 1978.1968 年，部分受损的奥古斯特建筑群连同约翰楼、阿尔贝特楼与完好的保利努斯教堂被拆除，以便在 1973 至 1978 年间进行重建。
• The dominant building of that era, the University Tower, was built between 1968 and 1972 in the form of an open book and now stands as the City-Hochhaus Leipzig.那一时期的标志性建筑大学高塔建于 1968 至 1972 年、形如一本打开的书，如今用作莱比锡城市高楼。
• In 1991, after German reunification, the university's name was restored to Leipzig University, and a new Faculty of Sport Science absorbed East Germany's premier sports university, the DHfK.1991 年两德统一后，校名恢复为莱比锡大学；新设的体育学院并入了东德顶级体育高校德国体育学院（DHfK）。
• In 2004 a jury chose a design by the Dutch architect Erick van Egeraat for the Augustusplatz campus, recalling the outline of St Paul's Church in a new building called the Paulinum.2004 年，评审团选定荷兰建筑师 Erick van Egeraat 为奥古斯特广场校区所作的设计，以名为 Paulinum 的新建筑重现圣保罗教堂的轮廓。
• Renovation of the central campus began in the summer of 2005 at an estimated total cost of 140 million euros, in time for the university's 600th anniversary celebrations in 2009.中央校区改造于 2005 年夏动工，估计总造价 1.4 亿欧元，赶在 2009 年该校六百周年校庆前完成。
• In 2008 the university won a graduate school in Germany's nationwide Initiative of Excellence, the BuildMoNa Leipzig School of Natural Sciences, and the Bach Archive was associated with the university the same year.2008 年，该校在全德卓越计划中赢得一所研究生院——莱比锡自然科学研究生院 BuildMoNa；同年巴赫档案馆也与其建立关联。
• Leipzig University celebrated its 600th anniversary in 2009 with over 300 scientific and cultural lectures and exhibitions.2009 年，莱比锡大学以 300 多场学术与文化讲座及展览庆祝建校六百周年。
• Since 2008 the university has hosted one of Germany's few Confucius Institutes, established under a 2006 agreement with Renmin University of China, and in 1995 the Leibniz Institute for Jewish History and Culture was formed.自 2008 年起，该校设有德国为数不多的孔子学院之一，依据是 2006 年与中国人民大学签署的协议；1995 年莱布尼茨犹太历史文化研究所也在此成立。

Academics

• The University comprises fourteen faculties with more than 150 institutes, and offers about 190 study programmes leading to bachelor's, master's, state examination, diploma and doctoral degrees.该校设 14 个学院、150 多个研究所，提供约 190 个学位项目，涵盖学士、硕士、国家考试、文凭与博士等层次。
• Its fourteen faculties are Theology, Law, History Art and Area Studies, Philology, Education, Social Sciences and Philosophy, and Economics and Management Science.其十四个学院为神学、法学、历史艺术与区域研究、语言学、教育学、社会科学与哲学，以及经济学与管理学。
• The remaining faculties are Sport Science, Mathematics and Computer Science, Life Sciences, Physics and Earth System Sciences, Chemistry, Veterinary Medicine and Medicine.其余学院为体育学、数学与计算机科学、生命科学、物理学与地球系统科学、化学、兽医学与医学。
• As of the most recent figures the university had 30,528 students, 459 professors and 5,625 employees, and offered 152 degree programmes in all.据最近的数据，该校有 30,528 名学生、459 名教授与 5,625 名雇员，共开设 152 个学位项目。
• About 3,770 international students, some 12 per cent of the student body, were enrolled, with China, Russia and Ukraine among the largest countries of origin.该校约有 3,770 名国际学生，约占学生总数的 12%，中国、俄罗斯与乌克兰是最大的来源国之列。
• In the 2024 financial year the university recorded total revenues of 397.9 million euros and total expenses of 398.3 million euros, closing with a deficit of about 0.5 million euros.2024 财年，该校总收入为 3.979 亿欧元、总支出为 3.983 亿欧元，全年出现约 50 万欧元赤字。
• The Faculty of Philology is the largest by enrolment with 4,068 students, followed by the Faculty of Law with 3,738 and the Faculty of Medicine with 3,654.语言学院在校生最多，达 4,068 人；法学院以 3,738 人、医学院以 3,654 人紧随其后。
• The university maintains partnerships with institutions in 50 countries and runs 38 international degree programmes, several of them taught in English.该校与 50 个国家的机构建立伙伴关系，并开设 38 个国际学位项目，其中若干以英语授课。
• Exchange partners include the universities of Arizona, Oklahoma, Houston, Alberta, Ohio and Edinburgh, as well as Moscow's Lomonosov University and Renmin University in Beijing.交换伙伴包括亚利桑那大学、俄克拉何马大学、休斯敦大学、阿尔伯塔大学、俄亥俄大学与爱丁堡大学，以及莫斯科罗蒙诺索夫大学与北京的中国人民大学。
• The Erasmus Mundus Global Studies master's programme is offered by a consortium of Leipzig, the London School of Economics, the University of Vienna, the University of Wrocław and Roskilde University.伊拉斯谟世界全球研究硕士项目由莱比锡大学、伦敦政治经济学院、维也纳大学、弗罗茨瓦夫大学与罗斯基勒大学组成的联盟共同开设。
• Leipzig University Library, established in 1543, is one of the oldest German university libraries and comprises the Bibliotheca Albertina and about forty branch libraries.莱比锡大学图书馆建于 1543 年，是德国最古老的大学图书馆之一，由阿尔贝蒂娜主馆与约四十个分馆组成。
• The library holds five million volumes and about 7,700 periodicals, ranging from medieval manuscripts and incunabula to papyri, autographs and coins.该馆藏有 500 万册图书与约 7,700 种期刊，藏品涵盖中世纪手稿、摇篮本、纸草文献、手迹与钱币。
• Its special collections include the fourth-century Codex Sinaiticus, brought from Sinai in 1843 by Constantin von Tischendorf, and the ancient Egyptian Papyrus Ebers.其特藏包括公元四世纪的西奈抄本（由 Constantin von Tischendorf 于 1843 年自西奈带回）以及古埃及的埃伯斯纸草。
• In 2008 the university also secured grants from the Saxon excellence initiative for the LIFE project, a research cluster that seeks to understand common diseases more effectively.2008 年，该校还从萨克森卓越计划获得 LIFE 项目经费，这一研究集群旨在更有效地认识常见疾病。
• The university's Musical Instrument Museum holds one of the world's three surviving pianos built by Bartolomeo Cristofori, the inventor of the piano, together with five other Cristofori instruments.该校乐器博物馆藏有世界现存三架克里斯托福里钢琴之一（克里斯托福里是钢琴的发明者），另有五件他的乐器。
• Several International Max Planck Research Schools operate with Leipzig University, including Mathematics in the Sciences and the Leipzig School of Human Origins.多个马克斯·普朗克国际研究学院与莱比锡大学合作运行，其中包括自然科学中的数学与莱比锡人类起源学院。
• Historically the university has been strong in medicine and the humanities, and its Leipzig School of translation studies was founded by scholars including Otto Kade and Albrecht Neubert.该校历来在医学与人文学科见长；其翻译研究的莱比锡学派由 Otto Kade 与 Albrecht Neubert 等学者创立。

Campus

• The university's urban campus is spread across 38 locations in Leipzig, and its main buildings in the Mitte district still stand on the same land as the earliest buildings of 1409.该校的城区校园分布于莱比锡的 38 处地点，其中市中心的几座主楼仍坐落在 1409 年最早校舍所在的同一片土地上。
• The central buildings were substantially reconstructed from 2005, and the new main building, the Paulinum, was drafted by the Dutch architect Erick van Egeraat.中央建筑群自 2005 年起大规模重建，新主楼 Paulinum 由荷兰建筑师 Erick van Egeraat 设计。
• The Leipzig Botanical Garden, established in 1542, is the second-oldest botanical garden in Europe and forms part of the university's scientific collections.建于 1542 年的莱比锡植物园是欧洲第二古老的植物园，也是该校科学收藏体系的一部分。
• Besides faculties and teaching institutions, the university operates a library, an archive, several museums and its own university hospital, one of the oldest in Germany, where medical students train alongside clinicians.除各院系与教学机构外，该校还运营一座图书馆、一处档案馆、若干博物馆，以及德国最古老的大学医院之一，医学生在此与临床医生一同受训。
• The university's museums include the Museum of Ancient Egypt, the Museum of Musical Instruments and the Museum of Classical Antiquities, each with extensive collections.该校博物馆包括古埃及博物馆、乐器博物馆与古典文物博物馆，各自拥有丰富的藏品。
• The university's main library building, the Bibliotheca Albertina, stands at Beethovenstraße 6, with branch libraries serving law, medicine, musicology and the sciences.大学主图书馆阿尔贝蒂娜馆位于贝多芬街 6 号，另设法学、医学、音乐学与自然科学等分馆。
• One of the two centres of the German National Library is based in Leipzig, and its collections are open for academic research.德国国家图书馆的两个中心之一设在莱比锡，其馆藏对学术研究开放。
• The campus grew out of a medieval urban core, and much of student life is woven into the surrounding city rather than contained on a single enclosed site.校园由中世纪的城区核心发展而来，学生生活很大程度上融入周边城市，而非囿于单一封闭的校园。

Reputation

• Leipzig University is one of the world's oldest universities and, by consecutive years of existence, Germany's second-oldest university after Heidelberg.莱比锡大学是世界最古老的大学之一，按连续办学年数计也是德国仅次于海德堡的历史第二悠久大学。
• The university is placed 540th in the world in the QS World University Rankings 2027, and 32nd nationally within Germany in the 2026 edition.在 2027 年 QS 世界大学排名中，莱比锡大学位列世界第 540 位；在 2026 年版榜单中，其德国国内排名为第 32。
• Leipzig University does not appear in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2027, in which it is not listed.莱比锡大学未进入 2027 年泰晤士高等教育世界大学排名，榜单中并无该校。
• The U.S. News & World Report Best Global Universities ranking for 2026-2027 places Leipzig University 299th in the world.在 2026 至 2027 年《美国新闻与世界报道》最佳全球大学排名中，该校位列世界第 299 位。
• The Academic Ranking of World Universities 2026 places Leipzig University in the 201-300 band, and earlier editions placed it between 10th and 19th nationally.2026 年软科世界大学学术排名将莱比锡大学列于第 201 至 300 区间，此前的版本则将其列于德国国内第 10 至 19 位。
• The Webometrics Ranking of World Universities places Leipzig 18th in Germany, 98th in Europe and 264th in the world for its online scientific publications.在网络计量世界大学排名中，莱比锡大学依其在线科研发表位列德国第 18、欧洲第 98、世界第 264。
• Leipzig is associated with 19 Nobel laureates, most recently the faculty professor Svante Pääbo, who won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2022.莱比锡大学与 19 位诺贝尔奖得主相关，最近一位是 2022 年获得诺贝尔生理学或医学奖的该校教授 Svante Pääbo。
• Its alumni include 55 prime ministers and presidents, notably Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021, and the university's physics faculty taught Werner Heisenberg for fifteen years.其校友包括 55 位总理与总统，尤以 2005 至 2021 年任德国总理的 Angela Merkel 著称；该校物理学科曾聘沃纳·海森堡任教十五年。
• Leipzig's Faculty of Medicine and its university hospital are among its best-known strengths, and the university has taught medical scholars for more than five centuries.莱比锡大学的医学院与附属医院是其最知名的强项之一，该校已培养医学学者五百余年。
• The University is a member of the Arqus European University Alliance, alongside partners such as the University of Granada and the University of Padua.该校是 Arqus 欧洲大学联盟的成员，联盟伙伴还包括格拉纳达大学与帕多瓦大学等。
• Leipzig University is also a member of the Utrecht Network, and its academics have long maintained close contacts with universities in Eastern Europe and East Asia.莱比锡大学同时是乌得勒支网络的成员，其学者长期与东欧及东亚的大学保持密切联系。
• In the 2026 QS World University Rankings by Subject the university is among the leading German institutions in classics and ancient history, reflecting the strength of its Institute of Classical Archaeology.在 2026 年 QS 世界大学学科排名中，该校在古典学与古代史领域位居德国高校前列，体现了其古典考古研究所的实力。

Student life

• Leipzig University's motto is "Aus Tradition Grenzen überschreiten", meaning "crossing boundaries out of tradition".莱比锡大学的校训是「Aus Tradition Grenzen überschreiten」，意为「在传统中跨越边界」。
• The Moritzbastei, part of Leipzig's historic city fortifications, is the largest student club in Germany and is famous for its cultural events.莫里茨棱堡是莱比锡古城墙的一部分，也是德国最大的学生俱乐部，以丰富的文化活动著称。
• The university is home to the Leipzig Academic Orchestra and the University Choir of Leipzig, and offers performing-arts courses every semester.该校设有莱比锡学术管弦乐团与莱比锡大学合唱团，每学期都开设表演艺术课程。
• A dance festival is organised by students once a year, and the university offers sports training and courses in almost all disciplines.学生每年组织一次舞蹈节；该校在几乎全部体育项目上都开设训练与课程。
• During the annual Leipzig Book Fair the university library and other institutions organise public events for authors.在一年一度的莱比锡书展期间，大学图书馆等机构会为作家举办公共活动。
• In the winter term of 2017 about 11 per cent of the 28,797 students, some 3,174 people, were foreign students.2017 年冬季学期，该校 28,797 名学生中约有 11%（3,174 人）为外国学生。
• Each year the university receives about 37,000 applications, enrols some 7,415 new first-semester students and awards degrees to about 4,664 graduates.该校每年收到约 37,000 份申请，录取约 7,415 名新入学的第一学期学生，并向约 4,664 名毕业生授予学位。
• The university has a long tradition of choral and church music associated with the Thomaskirche and with Johann Sebastian Bach, who lived for 27 years in Leipzig.该校在合唱与教堂音乐方面传统悠久，与托马斯教堂及曾在莱比锡生活 27 年的约翰·塞巴斯蒂安·巴赫相关。
• Students run a large number of bars and sports clubs, and the university itself provides recreational facilities across its city-centre locations.学生经营着众多酒吧与体育社团，校方也在其市中心各校区提供休闲设施。
• The student body is diverse both because of the university's wide subject range and because Leipzig hosts several other higher-education institutions, including the University of Music and Theatre and the Leipzig University of Applied Sciences.由于学科门类广泛、且莱比锡另有若干高等院校（如莱比锡音乐与戏剧学院及莱比锡应用技术大学），该校的学生群体十分多元。

Notable people

• Frederick I, Elector of Saxony, and his brother William II, Margrave of Meissen, founded the university in 1409 and became its first patrons.萨克森选帝侯腓特烈一世与其弟迈森藩侯威廉二世于 1409 年创办该校，是其最初的赞助人。
• Johannes Otto von Münsterberg served as the university's first rector after its chartering by Pope Alexander V in 1409.在教宗历山五世于 1409 年颁布特许状后，Johannes Otto von Münsterberg 出任该校首任校长。
• Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz studied philosophy at Leipzig from 1661 to 1663 and became the mathematician and philosopher who developed calculus.戈特弗里德·威廉·莱布尼茨于 1661 至 1663 年在莱比锡攻读哲学，后来成为创立微积分的数学家与哲学家。
• Johann Wolfgang von Goethe studied law and literature at Leipzig from 1765 to 1768 before becoming Germany's foremost poet.约翰·沃尔夫冈·冯·歌德于 1765 至 1768 年在莱比锡学习法学与文学，日后成为德国最重要的诗人。
• Friedrich Nietzsche studied classical philology at Leipzig from 1865 to 1869 and became one of the most influential modern philosophers.弗里德里希·尼采于 1865 至 1869 年在莱比锡攻读古典语文学，日后成为最具影响力的现代哲学家之一。
• Wilhelm Wundt, professor of philosophy from 1875, founded the world's first laboratory for experimental psychology at Leipzig in 1879.自 1875 年起任哲学教授的威廉·冯特于 1879 年在莱比锡建立世界首个实验心理学实验室。
• Werner Heisenberg, professor of theoretical physics from 1927 to 1942, won the 1932 Nobel Prize in Physics and mentored several later Nobel laureates.1927 至 1942 年任理论物理学教授的沃纳·海森堡获 1932 年诺贝尔物理学奖，并培养出多位后来的诺贝尔奖得主。
• Wilhelm Ostwald, professor of physical chemistry from 1887 to 1906, won the 1909 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and mentored more Nobel winners.1887 至 1906 年任物理化学教授的威廉·奥斯特瓦尔德获 1909 年诺贝尔化学奖，并培养了更多诺贝尔奖得主。
• Paul Ehrlich, who earned his doctorate at Leipzig in 1883, won the 1908 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.1883 年在莱比锡取得博士学位的保罗·埃尔利希获 1908 年诺贝尔生理学或医学奖。
• Angela Merkel, who studied physics at Leipzig from 1973 to 1978, became the first female Chancellor of Germany, serving from 2005 to 2021.1973 至 1978 年在莱比锡攻读物理学的安格拉·默克尔成为德国首位女总理，任期为 2005 至 2021 年。
• Cai Yuanpei, a Chinese educator who studied philosophy and psychology at Leipzig from 1908 to 1911, became president of Peking University and founder of Academia Sinica.1908 至 1911 年在莱比锡学习哲学与心理学的中国教育家蔡元培，后来出任北京大学校长并创办中央研究院。
• Also among its alumni are the Chinese writers Lin Yutang and Ku Hung-ming, the astronomer Tycho Brahe, the physicist Edward Teller and the Czech president Tomáš Masaryk.其校友还包括中国作家林语堂与辜鸿铭、天文学家第谷·布拉赫、物理学家爱德华·泰勒，以及捷克斯洛伐克总统托马斯·马萨里克。