Historical Collections

The vast majority of distinguished academics (including such luminaries as Nobel Prize winner Wilhelm Wien) wear a gown. The gown, a long coat-like garment, was worn by clergy in the Middle Ages and was adopted by early universities, thus establishing a centuries-long tradition as academic attire. 2026 will mark the 200th anniversary of the LMU's relocation to Munich. Will we then once again be able to admire a procession of professors in their "official robes" on the street named after their founder, Ludwigstraße? – We can look forward to finding out!

In 1472, Duke Ludwig IX, known as “the Rich,” founded Bavaria's first state university, the “Hohe Schule” in Ingolstadt. In 1800, Elector Maximilian IV Joseph (later King Maximilian I of Bavaria) moved the university from Ingolstadt to Landshut. Shortly thereafter, in 1826, King Ludwig I moved it to Munich. The university's seal, depicting the Madonna and Child under a Gothic canopy, has remained unchanged over the centuries. The university archives preserve the oldest university seals in a 19th-century casket (UAM, Kustodie-B).