The idea of concentrating scientific knowledge so that it could be spread in the future, embodied in the form of various schools, was realized in Ancient Greece. But schools concentrated local knowledge in one scientific discipline. Universities became the form of education that allowed students to make choices according to their needs, aspirations and talents.
Who should be given the championship?
Strictly speaking, the very first university that appeared in the Western world can be considered Constantinople, founded in 425 AD, but received the status of a university in only 848. Students studying in it received knowledge in the field of medicine, law and philosophy. In addition, one of the compulsory disciplines was rhetoric - the ability to express one's thoughts. From the 9th century, other natural sciences began to be studied at this educational institution: astronomy, arithmetic, geometry and music. But since Constantinople, as the city was called, which is now called Istanbul, is located on the border of Europe with Asia, many are inclined to give the palm to the University of the Italian city of Bologna, which was founded in 1088 AD.
This educational institution, the first in Western Europe, was issued a Charter from Frederick I Barbarossa in 1158, by that time, for 70 years at the university, students had been studying a course in theology and civil law. The charter gave the university the right to implement its research and educational programs independently of either church or secular authorities. Since that time, a course on grammar, logic and rhetoric has been included in the program. The University of Bologna is the oldest educational institution that carried out continuous educational activities and presented its graduates with an academic degree. It is currently the second largest Italian university. Today, about 100 thousand students study at its 23 faculties.
Other oldest universities in Europe
In 1222, a new educational institution with a university program and level of education was founded in another Italian city, Padua, by former teachers and students of the University of Bologna, who were in conflict with its leadership. This university had two departments, in one, students studied theology, civil and canon law, in the other - medicine, rhetoric, philosophy, dialectics, grammar, astronomy and medicine.
In the English-speaking world, Oxford is recognized as the oldest university, the year of its foundation - 1117. Initially, the English clergy received theosophical education within its walls, but already from the 13th century the higher nobility began to study there. Currently, this educational institution trains humanities students, mathematicians, physicists, sociologists, doctors, botanists, ecologists, etc.
Another oldest European university is the French Sorbonne, founded in 1215. At first it was a union of church colleges, but already in 1255, young people from poor families received the right to study theology in this institution. Since the 16th century, the Sorbonne University has been considered the center of European philosophical thought.
