The University of Mainz was founded in 1477 by Diether von Isenburg, Archbishop and Elector of Mainz as well as Archchancellor of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. He realized a plan already prepared by his predecessor. At that time, the founding of state universities was a common trend in many larger territorial states.

The curriculum initially included theology, medicine, canon and Roman law, as well as the seven “liberal arts”: grammar, rhetoric, dialectics, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music – typical of medieval universities.

Renowned by 1508

In its early decades, the university grew steadily, reportedly reaching up to 200 students. By 1508, it was considered highly prestigious (Petrus Ravenna). However, reform attempts in 1523, 1535, and 1541 point to an early crisis, largely due to financial instability. The onset of the Reformation also left its mark on the university.

To counter this, the Archbishop of Mainz opened a Jesuit college in 1561, aiming to support the Catholic Counter-Reformation and to revitalize the university. These efforts succeeded, especially in theology and medicine. Between 1615 and 1618, a dedicated university building, the Domus Universitatis, was constructed. Today, it houses the Department of Journalism and the Institute for European History.

The Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648) led to a dramatic decline in student numbers. When Swedish troops occupied Mainz, university members fled and continued teaching in exile, e.g. in Cologne. The university recovered only gradually after the war.

Stable Financial Foundation

Following the dissolution of the Jesuit order in 1773, the Jesuit college in Mainz was closed that same year. This made a new reform of the university and its statutes necessary. As part of this process, the University Fund of Mainz was established in 1781, providing the university with a secure financial foundation for the first time. Equally important was the expansion of academic offerings: a new historical-statistical faculty was created, offering instruction in various historical fields as well as political science and statistics. In addition, a cameralistic faculty was established, which taught subjects such as applied mathematics, botany, and veterinary medicine. Theology and medicine continued to be part of the curriculum. This diverse and expanded program attracted up to 700 students in the following years. During this Enlightenment period, Georg Forster—likely the most well-known scholar of the old University of Mainz—served as university librarian.

The French Revolution left a lasting mark on Mainz. In 1792, it led to the establishment of the first republic on German soil. However, the chaos of war, conquests, and reconquests of the city eventually brought academic operations at the University of Mainz to a halt. The Faculty of Medicine held out the longest, continuing to award degrees until 1818. Five years later, however, even the last lectures in that faculty came to an end.

However, the University Fund of Mainz and the Mainz “Accouchement”, a midwifery training school founded in 1784, continued to exist, preserving a small part of the university’s academic tradition until the re-establishment of the “new” university in 1946. In addition, a seminary remained in continuous operation throughout this period.
Although there were repeated discussions about reviving full academic instruction, such plans regularly failed due to lack of funding.

Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz

On May 15, 1946, the university, now named “Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz”, resumed academic operations. In the opening semester, 2,088 students, including women for the first time, were enrolled.
During the 1946/47 winter semester, classes in the natural sciences began, leading to a sharp increase in enrollment to 4,205 students.

The French military government supported the reopening of the university as part of its effort to educate the German population in a “new spirit.” Moreover, without this initiative, the newly founded state of Rhineland-Palatinate, established under French administration, would have had no university of its own. The university was housed in a former military barracks, which allowed it to develop as a campus university. While this provided spatial unity, it also meant a certain distance from the city center. To ensure integration into local life, several university institutes were located in the city, and the university regularly organizes public events there, such as lectures and the Science Market, first held in 2002.

In the decades that followed, Johannes Gutenberg University-Mainz experienced steady growth, benefiting from the general rise in student numbers. At the same time, it expanded its range of academic programs, increasing its appeal to a broader student body. Initiatives such as the Studium Generale, the International Summer Course, and numerous international partnerships, particularly with French universities, reflect the shared goals that both Germans and French pursued with the university’s re-establishment. Meanwhile, the continued presence of theology, the university’s name, and many street names on campus provide a symbolic link to the historic university. Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz can therefore build on a long-standing academic tradition, a tradition that not only inspires pride but also carries responsibility, as stated in the university’s mission statement.