Collegium Maius

The Collegium maius was the main building of the old university in Erfurt. It is located in Michaelisstraße directly opposite the Michelis Church in the former Latin quarter. The founding of the University of Erfurt dates back to the founding privilege of 1379. The Collegium maius thus represents the oldest university in Germany, whose most famous student was probably Martin Luther.

Luther began his studies in 1501

The outstanding academic reputation of Erfurt University attracted many students to Erfurt, including Martin Luther. He began his studies here in 1501 at the age of 17. The university united all four medieval faculties: philosophy, theology, medicine and law. Like all students at the time, Martin Luther initially devoted himself to the ‘seven liberal arts’ (grammar, rhetoric, dialectics, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and music) and later, at his father's request, to law. The reformer was enrolled in 1501 as ‘Martinus Ludher ex Mansfeldt’. He successfully completed his basic studies in the Seven Liberal Arts in 1505 as Magister Artium. However, a drastic personal experience radically changed the young Luther's life and he entered the Augustinian monastery in Erfurt on 17 July 1505, where he began his theological training.

The building was destroyed in 1945. The Collegium maius has since been completely reconstructed and is now home to the Evangelical Church in Central Germany.