European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) (German: Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder)) is a university located at Frankfurt an der Oder in the land of Brandenburg, near the Oder River, which there marks the border between Germany and Poland.

The present University was founded in 1991, conceived as a revival of the first University of Frankfurt an der Oder, which existed in that city from 1506 until 1811, when it was moved to Breslau. The word "Viadrina," from the Latin, means "belonging to, or situated at, the Oder River": it derives from Viadra, the Latin name for the Oder (the city of Frankfurt an der Oder having been known in Latin as Francofortum ad Viadrum). The modern University was established for structural and political reasons, as the area is impoverished and the city is situated directly on the border with Poland, cooperation with which is a top priority of the German government.

One of Germany's smallest state universities (probably the second-smallest after the University of Erfurt), the Viadrina has some 3,000 students — nearly 1,000 of whom come from Poland — and some 160 teaching staff.

Historical Viadrina

The Alma Mater Viadrina was founded in 1506 by the Prince of Brandenburg, Joachim I, as the principal university of Brandenburg. It was organized into four faculties: law, theology, philosophy and medicine. The university enjoyed an excellent reputation in Brandenburg and the surrounding regions, and its graduates — access to high positions in administration, politics, law and the church.

In 1811 Viadrina University was moved to Breslau (now Wrocław) and merged with the University of Breslau, the Leopoldina, in order to be competitive with the newly founded University of Berlin (now Humboldt University). Some of the Viadrina professors did, however, accept positions in Berlin.

The old university building in Frankfurt an der Oder was destroyed in World War II and finally cleared in the 1960s. Only the arch of the main entrance has been preserved as a monument.

Famous students at the historical Viadrina included the brothers Alexander and Wilhelm von Humboldt, the philosopher Ulrich von Hutten, the musician Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, the theologian and political leader Thomas Müntzer, and the poet Heinrich von Kleist.

The new Viadrina

In 1991 the university was re-established as Viadrina European University. It currently comprises three faculties: Economics and Business Studies; Law; and Cultural Studies. A prime focus of the educational program is to attract students from throughout Europe in order to create a multi-national student body. Currently about 40 per cent of the students are foreigners (mostly Polish), a quite remarkable proportion compared with other German universities.

Viadrina European University maintains close cooperation with Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland. The two universities jointly operate the Collegium Polonicum , located just opposite the Viadrina on the Polish side of the Oder River.

Notable among the research institutions at Viadrina University is the Frankfurt Institute of Transformational Studies (FIT). The Institute is a substantial contributor to research on economies in transition.

The current president of the University, Professor Gesine Schwan, ran for President of Germany in 2004, being narrowly defeated by Horst Köhler.

External links

• Viadrina European University
• Collegium Polonicum
• Frankfurt Institute of Transformational Studies
• Adam Mickiewicz University