Ludwig Maximilian University: Info about Munich's beautiful university

Facts about the LMU

• The main building of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität is located on Ludwigstraße in the immediate vicinity of the Siegestor, the Bavarian State Library and the Ludwigskirche.
• More than 50,000 students study at 18 faculties in Munich. This makes it one of the largest universities in Germany.
• Founded in 1472, the LMU is Germany's ninth oldest university.

History of Ludwig-Maximilians-University

Although it is a traditional institution in Munich, LMU was actually founded in the city of Ingolstadt in 1472. In 1800, Elector Max IV Joseph moved the university to Landshut. In 1826, King Ludwig I brought the university to Munich in one of his first official acts.

The present main building of the university, designed by Friedrich von Gärtner, has been home to university activities since 1840.

The Geschwister-Scholl-Platz in front of the main building as well as the Professor-Huber-Platz in front of the law faculty commemorate the resistance of the "White Rose" against the Nazi regime. The siblings Hans and Sophie Scholl, Professor Kurt Huber and other students were executed by the Nazis in 1943.

Since 1997, a memorial in the atrium of the main building has also commemorated the resistance fighters of the "White Rose".

Students study not only in the magnificent main building

50,000 students study at the 18 faculties of the Ludwig Maximilian University in around 150 different courses. In terms of numbers, this makes Munich's LMU one of the five largest universities in Germany.

However, the majority of the faculties are not housed in the magnificent main building, but in adjoining buildings in the university district of Maxvorstadt along Schellingstraße or Theresienstraße - or outsourced to Munich's Großhadern district and even to the city of Oberschleißheim, a few miles to the north of Munich.

The main building mainly houses large lecture halls for lectures that are particularly popular with the public, as well as the large auditorium (Große Aula), which is used for festive occasions such as concerts and award ceremonies.