Influential senior lecturer Leopold Ranke – Viadrina commemorates the founder of German history with a symposium

200 years ago, Frankfurt senior teacher Leopold Ranke wrote his first work entitled "Histories of the Romanic and Germanic Peoples" – a book that earned him a reputation as the founder of German historiography. This influential citizen of Frankfurt (Oder) will be commemorated by a day-long symposium on Friday, December 13, at the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder).

The conference will combine an appreciation of Ranke's first work with a look at his work as head teacher at Friedrichs-Gymnasium, his involvement in Frankfurt's urban society and the economic and social history of the city of Frankfurt (Oder). Anyone interested is cordially invited to attend the conference in the Viadrina Senate Hall, Große Scharrnstraße 59, Room 109.

Born in 1795, the historian Leopold Ranke lived in Frankfurt (Oder) from 1818 and taught classical philology and history at the city's Friedrichs-Gymnasium. In his book "Geschichten der romanischen und germanischen Völker", which was written in Frankfurt (Oder), he describes the power struggle between European states in the 15th and 16th centuries. The publication marked his breakthrough as a historian and led to his appointment at the University of Berlin. "Apart from Heinrich von Kleist, no other personality in Frankfurt's city history is likely to have had such a global impact that has lasted over two hundred years to this day," says Prof. Dr. Reinhard Blänkner, Professor Emeritus of Modern History and Cultural History at the Viadrina and organizer of the conference.

The symposium programme includes lectures and discussions, including with Dr. Denny Becker, Director of the Frankfurt (Oder) City Archive, Prof. Dr. Matthias Asche, historian at the University of Potsdam, as well as representatives of the Ranke Society, Prof. Dr. Johannes Süßmann from the University of Paderborn and Prof. Dr. Santi di Bella from the University of Palermo.

For the complete program: Download (PDF)

A memorial plaque for Leopold Ranke will be unveiled at 1.30 pm at Oderpromenade 8 in Frankfurt (Oder) as part of the symposium. It will commemorate Ranke at the former site of the Friedrichs-Gymnasium. The plaque was initiated and financed by Prof. Dr. Gangolf Hübinger and Prof. Dr. Rita Aldenhoff-Hübinger as part of the "Frankfurter Köpfe" project of the Netzwerkstatt Frankfurt (Oder).