| The Catholic school founded by Prince Archbishop Markus Sittikus was raised to the status of a university in 1622 by Archbishop Paris Lodron, giving it the same standing and the same rights as other universities in Italy, France and Germany. Reconstruction of the university building commenced in 1631 according to plans by the Cathedral architect, Santino Solari. |
Headed by Benedictine monks, the Salzburg University consisted of a faculty for theology with five professorial chairs, a faculty for jurisprudence with five chairs and a faculty for philosophy with four chairs. A medical faculty was introduced in 1632 was, however, dissolved in 1635 and never reinstated.
Over 32,000 students studied at the old Salzburg University including e.g. Abraham Santa Clara, Leopold Mozart, the pedagogue F.M. Vierthaler and Andreas von Liebenberg, mayor of Vienna during the first Turkish siege.
In 1810 Salzburg University was dissolved under Bavarian rule. The new university was opened in 1962 with four faculties: Theology, Jurisprudence, Philosophy and Natural Science.
The Aula academica was built in 1631 as a congregational hall for the collegiate Congregation of Mary. Particularly noteworthy are pictures depicting the 15 Mysteries of the Rosary dating back to 1636/37.
In 1649 the Christoph Besold Library was purchased by the university's president, laying the cornerstone for the University Library. A library hall was installed and in 1658 regulations for the provision of compulsory literature went into effect. The library expanded throughout the years through donations and legacies, encompassing a total of 12,000 volumes of literature. In 1793 the library was opened to the public and moved to the new university tract in the Hofstallgasse, its present location.
As a fully-enclosed square, the University Square is particularly impressive. It is surrounded by the typical houses of the Salzburg burghers, including the marvelous façade of Mozart's Birthplace (rear) and the house in which Mozart's sister Nannerl lived and died, the present-day Restaurant Zipfer Bierhaus.
A number of architecturally interesting passages lead to the Getreidegasse. The so-called Green Market is open daily, selling fresh fruit, vegetables and flowers from local farmers.
The "Alm Canal" can be seen flowing through a well in the center of the square. This subterranian canal runs through most of the Old City and is the source of the city's water supply. With the exception of a few, shut down tributaries, the canal still bears water.
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