As in the case of good restaurant, there are many good universities in Germany with a long intellectual tradition situated in relatively small towns. This geographic reality of the intellectual local map is probably due to the fact of the former autonomous structure of the relatively new German state. What is now considered 'small' at the scale of the Federal Republic used to play an important administrative role at the overall scale of the state administration. This is the case with Halle (an der Saale) with a 4-century long academic tradition.
Halle can market itself not only as an important academic and intellectual standpoint in the Eastern part of the German lands, but also as the place where the first student of African origin attended a high-education institution in Europe. The presence of Anton Wilhelm Amo, a teacher and philosopher of African origin, that grew up in Germany, is outlined by an interesting statuary group. Amo was originally from Ghana and was brought to Europe at an early age and adopted by Anthony Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbuetel. He started his education in 1727 at the Law School Salle, and continued further with studies in the field of logic, metaphysics, physiology, medicine, astronomy and history. Fluent in six languages - French, English, Dutch, German, Greek and Latin - he also studied at Jena or Wittenberg University, at the latter for his PhD in philosophy that he received in 1734.
The main university area of is situated close to the Operahaus and includes several buildings designed according to the principles of classical architecture, many of them freshly restored in the last years. Additional modern construction were successfully integrated into the older complex.
The current university is made up of two traditional centers of high-education: the university of Halle and the one from Wittenberg. Mostly focused on sciences, law and humanist knowledge, it contributed to the development of various technologies and studies, but also to the creation of interesting places that are integrated into the tourist local recommendations, such as the Botanical Gardens.
I visited Martin Luther University premises during the day of rest of 1st of May, and everything was quiet around. The vicinity to the old historical city center inspires to meditation and introspection, a feeling created by the big green spaces with statues of various intellectual representations.
The University from Halle is considered among the first to introduce the 'modern university model' in Europe, where the students are encouraged to critically address their sources rather than to reproduce sheepishly the words and insights of their teachers. Nowadays, the main faculties are: Theology, Law and Economics, Medicine, Philosophy and Natural Sciences.
Another intellectual reference for Halle an der Saale is Academia Leopoldina, labelled as the oldest and most respected German Academy of Sciences nowadays. Viewed from the outside, it looks as a serious castle where eventually important decisions are taken, and this impression was not necessarily influenced by the vicinity with the Moritzburg Castle who's situated just on the opposite side of the street. It was initially created in 1652, in Schweinfurt and counted more than 7,000 members since its foundation. Among the most prestigious representatives, we can mention: Goethe, Marie Curie, Max Planck, Albert Einstein or Charles Darwin.
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