Denkmal Urburschenschaft in Jena new cut

The Urburschenschaft () was the first ''

Burschenschaft A Burschenschaft (; sometimes abbreviated in the German ''Burschenschaft'' jargon; plural: ) is one of the traditional (student associations) of Germany, Austria, and Chile (the latter due to German cultural influence). Burschenschaften were fo ...

'', one traditional form of German student fraternities. It was founded in 1815 in

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a popu ...

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...

, in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. As colours, following their initial use in a state flag by the elder Reuss noble line in 1778 but having no known connections to that event, the ''Urburschenschaft'' adopted Black-Red-Gold, later to become the

National colours of Germany The national colours of the Federal Republic of Germany are officially black, red, and gold, defined with the adoption of the West German flag as a tricolour with these colours in 1949. As Germany was divided into West Germany and East Germany b ...

. Many founding members of the Jena Burschenschaft had been fighting in the

Lützow Free Corps Lützow Free Corps ( ) was a volunteer force of the Prussian army during the Napoleonic Wars. It was named after its commander, Ludwig Adolf Wilhelm von Lützow. The Corpsmen were also widely known as the “''Lützower Jäger''“ or “''Schwarz ...

during the Wars of Liberation. The uniforms of the Royal Prussian Free Corps von Lützow were black, with red trim, and golden coloured brass buttons. The Jena ''Urburschenschaft'' had 859 active students as members, about 60 per cent of all the students at the university of Jena from 1815 to 1820. One of its first members was

Heinrich von Gagern Heinrich Wilhelm August Freiherr von Gagern (20 August 179922 May 1880) was a statesman who argued for the unification of Germany. Early career The third son of Hans Christoph Ernst, Baron von Gagern, a liberal statesman from Nassau, Heinrich v ...

, the president of the

Frankfurt Parliament The Frankfurt Parliament (german: Frankfurter Nationalversammlung, literally ''Frankfurt National Assembly'') was the first freely elected parliament for all German states, including the German-populated areas of Austria-Hungary, elected on 1 Ma ...

in 1848/49. At other German universities ''Burschenschaften'' were founded in the early 19th century as associations of

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementar ...

s inspired by the ideals of the ''Urburschenschaft'',

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

and

nationalistic Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: T ...

ideas.

References

Student societies in Germany University of Jena Organisations based in Thuringia 1815 establishments in Germany {{Youth-org-stub sv:Burschenschaft