Electronic Properties of π-conjugated Materials II - Universität ...

General Information π 2011
in 1531 a poor and broken man. In the following decades strong clerico-worldly sovereigns ruled
the town, among them prince-bishop Julius Echter of Mespelbrunn, who founded the Juliusspital
in 1576 and the second university of Würzburg in 1582. �ere, at the institute of physics, would
Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen discover the X-Rays in 1895. �e town reached its zenith under the
leadership of the artloving family of Schönborn. For them, the architect Balthasar Neumann built
the “castle of castles” – the Residenz – between 1719 and 1744 including the famous staircase,
where the Venetian artist Giovanni Ba�ista Tiepolo created the world’s largest ceiling fresco.
A�er various political quarrels, Würzburg finally became Bavarian in 1814. On March 16, 1945 the
town was almost completely destroyed within 17 minutes in an air raid. It owes its reconstruction
to the enormous commitment of the inhabitants.
Prince’s Garden at Marienberg fortress. Foto: Andreas Bestle.
Today, Würzburg has 134 000 inhabitants. �e town, not only in the center of Germany, but also
in the heart of Europe, has perfect traffic connections. Several highway exits close to the city
connect it to a variety of routes in any direction. About 300 trains, among them 112 intercity
high-speed trains stop over at Würzburg’s main station every day. �e airports of Nürnberg
and Frankfurt are within reach in less than 2 hours without switching trains. �e high-speed
railway line between Hannover and Würzburg adds a special treat to the possibilities of reaching
Würzburg by train. Flourishing river traffic on the river completes the picture.
Würzburg is a town of tourism and conventions, and it has acquired a unique profile within
German tourism. �e best way to learn about Würzburgs points of interest is to follow the route
that leads from the “Residenz”, Balthasar Neumann’s masterpiece (including Tiepolos famous
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