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Lund University

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Lund University (Swedish: Lunds universitet), Universitas Gothorum Carolina, is a university in Lund in southernmost Sweden. The university was founded in 1666 and is the second oldest within Sweden's present borders.

Lund University has 7 faculties, with additional campuses in the cities of Malmö and Helsingborg, with a total of over 34,000 people studying in 50 different programmes and 800 separate courses. It belongs to the global Universitas 21 network of research-intensive universities.

The university traditionally centers on the Lundagård park adjacent to the Lund Cathedral, with various departments spread in different locations in town, but mostly concentrated in a belt stretching north from the park, through the university hospital area to the somewhat farther north and continuing out to the northeastern periphery of the town, where one finds the large campus of the Faculty of Technology, known as the Lund Institute of Technology.

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History

The city of Lund has a long history as a center for learning and was the ecclesiastical centre and seat of the archbishop of Denmark. A cathedral school (the katedralsskolan) for the training of clergy was established in 1085 and is today one of Scandinavias oldest schools. A medieval university education was also attempted in 1485, but never flourished and was soon abandoned.

After the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658, the Scanian lands came under the possession of the Swedish Crown, which quickly founded the Lund University in 1666 as the means of Swedification. It was the fifth university under the Swedish king, after Uppsala University 1477, the Academia Gustaviana 1632, now in Estonia; the Academy of Åbo 1640, now in Finland; and the University of Greifswald, 1648, now in Germany.

The university was named Academia Carolina after Charles X Gustav of Sweden. The name was in some formal use until the late 19th century, when Lund University became the widespread denomination.

The university was at its founding granted four faculties: law, theological, medicine and philosophy. They were the corner stones, and for more than 200 years this system was in effect. Towards the end of the 17th century, the number of students hovered around 100. Some notable professors in the early days were Samuel Pufendorf, a juridical historian; and Canutus Hahn and Kristian Papke in philosophy.

The Scanian War in 1676 led to a shut-down, which lasted until 1682. The university was re-opened largely due to regional patriots, but the university was not to enjoy a high status until well into the 19th century. Lecturing rooms were few, and lectures were held in the Lund Cathedral and its adjecent chapel. The professors were underpaid.

In 1713, Charles XII of Sweden entered Lund. He stayed in Lund for three years, in between his warlike expeditions. The town of Lund and the university attracted a temporary attention boost. The most notable lecturer during this time was Andreas Rydelius.

Peace was finally restored with the death of Charles XII in 1718, and during the first half of the 18th century the university was granted added funds. The number of students was now well around 500. Despite not being on par with Uppsala University, it had still built a solid reputation and managed to attract prominent professors.

Around 1760 the university reputation dropped as the number of students fell below 200, most of whom hailed from around the province. However, by 1780 its reputation was largely restored, and continued to rise through the 1820s. This was largely owing to popular and well-educated lecturers particularly in philology; the prominent professor Esaias Tegnér was a particularly notable character with widespread authority. He, in turn, attracted others towards Lund. One of these was the young theological student C. G. Brunius, who studied ancient languages under Tegnér and were later to become professor of Greek. With time he was to devote himself to architectures and he redesigned several of Lund's buildings, as well as churches of the province.

Faculties

There are also departments located in Malmö and Helsingborg.

Student nations

The nations in Lund are today best described as student societies, though they were originally more like residential colleges, offering care for students arriving from various geographical locations. It is still required to enroll in a nation to receive grades at the university.

Today students may enroll in any nation, although the nations still preserve their geographic names. In most cases it does not matter what nation one enrolls in, but different nations offer different activities for interested students. The fee of around 350 Swedish krona per semester (which also includes student union membership fees), is the closest thing to a tuition requirement found in Sweden.

Each nation has student housing, but the accommodations in no way meet demand, and they are usually appointed according to a queue system. Each nation has at least one pub evening per week, with a following night club. Most nations also host at least one banquet per week, where a three course dinner is served. Each nation also has different activities for students interested in sports, arts, or partying. All activities within the nations are voluntary, and most students are not active in them.

Nations in Lund:

  1. Östgöta Nation
  2. Västgöta Nation
  3. Småland Nation
  4. Lunds Nation
  5. Malmö Nation
  6. Helsingkrona Nation
  7. Sydskånska Nation
  8. Kristianstad Nation
  9. Blekingska Nation
  10. Göteborg Nation
  11. Halland Nation
  12. Kalmar Nation
  13. Wermland Nation

Notable people connected to Lund University

Main article: List of Lund University people

Honorary doctorates

Notable students

Being one of only two Swedish Universities until 1885, many notable figures have studied there.

Partner Universities

References

External links

Further reading

See also

 

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
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