University of Göttingen

The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (German: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a public research university in the German city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony. Founded in 1734 by the Electorate of Hanover's government on the orders of George II, it began admitting students in 1737 and is recognized as the oldest university in Lower Saxony. Known for its historic and traditional significance, the university has affiliations with 47 Nobel Prize winners by its own count.

The university reached its academic peak between the late 19th to early 20th centuries, establishing itself as a major international center for mathematics and physics. During this period, scholars such as David Hilbert, Felix Klein, Max Born, and Ludwig Prandtl conducted influential research in mathematics, quantum mechanics, and aerodynamics at the university, which attracted an international student body, including prominent Americans such as Edward Everett, George Bancroft, John Lothrop Motley and J. Robert Oppenheimer. This prominence was severely disrupted by Adolf Hitler's rise to power in 1933, which saw the Nazi government pass the Civil Service Law that resulted in the dismissal or emigration of numerous faculty members, including many of Jewish origin or those opposed to the new regime. The university was subsequently reopened in British-occupied Germany in 1945 and began a process of academic reconstruction.

Today, the university is a member of the U15 group of major German research universities. It is also a part of prominent international and European academic networks such as the Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities, ENLIGHT alliance and HeKKSaGOn network. The university maintains close collaborations with leading Göttingen-based research institutions such as Max Planck Society, Leibniz Association, Fraunhofer Society and Helmholtz Association. With its extensive collection, the Göttingen State and University Library stands among Germany's largest libraries.