Bayreuth : development and trends in a new university

Abstract

Most people associate the city of Bayreuth with Richard Wagner, who lived there from 1872 until his death in 1883. It is, in fact, thanks to the annual Wagner festival, which has been held there since 1876, that Bayreuth became known throughout the world. Wagner apart, the city is the capital of the province of Upper Franconia in Bavaria. Situated about 40 miles north-north east of Nurnberg, it's a two hour drive from Munich, and has a population of roughly 70,000 inhabitants. The University occupies a very modern and still-growing campus on the outskirts of the town. The location of the campus is an indicator to the fact that the University of Bayreuth is very much a brand-new university, opened in the mid-seventies with the object of creating a new cultural centre. Siting the university in this part of Bavaria was indeed part of an effort to counter disadvantages inherent in Upper Franconia's regionalism. Being so newly-established, the University of Bayreuth, with a population of only 3000 students, is one of the smallest in Germany. This, however, is not without its advantages: smaller numbers of students make for more manageable lecture and study-groups and thus facilitate increased individual attention. Since one is not so exposed to the anonymity of mass lectures in overcrowded lecture-theatres, first-year students, fresh from the extremely structuralised and organised German secondary school system, find it easier to orientate into university life. It is easy to understand, on the other hand, that one cannot quite describe Bayreuth as a typical university town. Student life that has established roots and traditions over hundreds of years in towns like Heidelberg and Gottingen has yet to develop. Rather than deter prospective under-graduates keen on university life, this ought however to encourage students to make the most of initiative and creativity and help build up another university centre. Student attitudes, individual and collective, constitute the prime factor that determines the success or otherwise of university life and will be examined in greater detail further along in the article.