University and City - Two Habitats in Harmony
Among the Most Livable German Cities
According to survey data, the quality of life and general beauty of the city of Bamberg are consistently rated among the highest in Germany – and not just since the 1993 addition of the 70,000-inhabitant cathedral city to the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Even at first glance, Bamberg's old quarters reveal extensive evidence of university influence and academic life, and the university itself profits from the historicflair of the city centre. But the university is also aware of the responsibility that comes with the concept of a "university in the city."
"University in the City"
Listed historic buildings like the former Jesuit college (today An der Universität 2) or the Marcus-Haus at Markusplatz – now home to the Humanities and Human Sciences and Education faculties – illustrate the philosophy behind the "university in the city" utilisation concept: In centuries-old Bamberg, the exuberant students whose energy fills the numerous brewery taprooms, pubs and beer gardens are an inherent part of life in the city – not merely a peripheral phenomenon.
And it is precisely this atmosphere that distinguishes the University of Bamberg from many of Germany's other academic institutions.
State-of-the-art Infrastructure in a Constantly Developing City
But even outside the officially listed World Heritage area, there is an interesting architectural interplay at work between the university and the city. The buildings which house the university’s Faculty of Social Sciences, Economics and Business Administration, for instance, exemplify the unadorned, functional architectural style of the 1960s, whereas the new home of the Faculty of Information Systems and Applied Computer Science at the former industrial fallow of the ERBA-Island shows how well state-of-the-art infrastructure can be integrated into established urban areas.
World heritage status is not only an aspect of the university's campus however, but also an object of research for scholars of heritage conservation, art history and other disciplines. They have seized the unique opportunity to apply the cutting-edge methods being developed in their fields to the study of this very heritage – and in so doing, to contribute to its preservation.