[German Version]

Founded by Philip of Hesse in 1527 as the first Protestant university in Germany, the University of Marburg (renamed the Philipps-Universität in the 20th cent.) was a product of the Reformation in Hesse; it also met a territorial need and served to consolidate Philip's sovereignty. The establishment of a studium universale, without the customary papal privilege, took place in the context of an educational program promoting Humanism and the Reformation. Imperial approval – and hence recognition of university status – had to wait u…