The German Confederation was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, which had been dissolved in 1806 as a result of the Napoleonic Wars.
Corps (or Korps; "das ~" (n), German pronunciation:[ˈkoːɐ] (sg.), (pl.)) are the oldest still-existing kind of Studentenverbindung, Germany's traditional university corporations; their roots date back to the 15th century. The oldest corps still existing today was founded in 1789. Its members are referred to as corps students (Corpsstudenten). The corps belong to the tradition of student fraternities which wear couleur and practice academic fencing.
Studentenverbindung or studentische Korporation is the umbrella term for many different kinds of fraternity-type associations in German-speaking countries, including Corps, Burschenschaften, Landsmannschaften, Turnerschaften, and Catholic fraternities. Worldwide, there are over 1,600 Studentenverbindungen, about a thousand in Germany, with a total of over 190,000 members. In them, students spend their university years in an organized community, whose members stay connected even after graduation. A goal of this lifelong bond is to create contacts and friendships over many generations and to facilitate networking. The Lebensbund is very important for the longevity of these networks.
Coburger Convent der akademischen Landsmannschaften und Turnerschaften an deutschen Hochschulen is an association of German and Austrian studentenverbindungen. Its membership includes 91 student associations who all participate in academic fencing.
The University of Passau is a public research university located in Passau, Lower Bavaria, Germany. Founded in 1973, it is the youngest university in Bavaria and consequently has the most modern campus in the state. Nevertheless, its roots as the Institute for Catholic Studies dates back to the early 17th century.
The Carlsbad Decrees were a set of reactionary restrictions introduced in the states of the German Confederation by resolution of the Bundesversammlung on 20 September 1819 after a conference held in the spa town of Carlsbad, Austrian Empire. They banned nationalist fraternities ("Burschenschaften"), removed liberal university professors, and expanded the censorship of the press. They were aimed at quelling a growing sentiment for German unification and were passed during ongoing Hep-Hep riots which ended within a month after the resolution was passed.
Weinheimer Senioren-Convent is the second oldest association of German Studentenverbindungen. It comprises 58 German Student Corps, all of which are based upon the principle of tolerance.
A Burschenschaft is one of the traditional Studentenverbindungen of Germany, Austria, and Chile . Burschenschaften were founded in the 19th century as associations of university students inspired by liberal and nationalistic ideas. They were significantly involved in the March Revolution and the unification of Germany. After the formation of the German Empire in 1871, they faced a crisis, as their main political objective had been realized. So-called Reformburschenschaften were established, but these were dissolved by the Nazi regime in 1935/6. In West Germany, the Burschenschaften were re-established in the 1950s, but they faced a renewed crisis in the 1960s and 1970s, as the mainstream political outlook of the German student movement of that period started leaning more towards the left. Roughly 160 Burschenschaften exist today in Germany, Austria and Chile.
The first Wartburg Festival was a convention of about 500 Protestant German students, held on 18 October 1817 at the Wartburg castle near Eisenach in Thuringia. The former refuge of reformer Martin Luther was considered a national symbol and the assembly a protest against reactionary politics and Kleinstaaterei.
The Union of Catholic German Student Fraternities is a German umbrella organization of Catholic male student fraternities (Studentenverbindung).
The Hambacher Festival was a German national democratic festival celebrated from 27 May to 30 May 1832 at Hambach Castle, near Neustadt an der Weinstraße, in present-day Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The event was disguised as a nonpolitical county fair. It was one of the main public demonstrations in support of German unity, freedom and democracy during the Vormärz era.
The Frankfurter Wachensturm on 3 April 1833 was a failed attempt to start a revolution in Germany.
The Urburschenschaft was the first Burschenschaft, a form of the German student fraternity known as Studentenverbindung. It was founded in 1815 at the University of Jena and lasted through 1819.
Corps Austria is a member Corps of the Kösener Senioren-Convents-Verband, the association of the oldest student fraternities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Corps Austria is "pflichtschlagend", which refers to the fact that it requires of its members to participate in several organized duel-like fencing engagements with members of other specific student fraternities, a ritual dating back to the 17th century and described by Mark Twain in his book "A tramp abroad". The Corps Austria is further considered "farbentragend" in that its members wear a colored sash across their chests as evidence of their membership of the fraternity. Both of these tendencies are characteristic of the most traditional and often very elite all-male fraternities in countries for central Europe. Eligible applicants are students of the Goethe University Frankfurt and other colleges in Frankfurt, Germany. Members of Corps Austria are colloquially referred to as "Austrianer", or simply "Austern". Corps Austria was founded in 1861 at the Charles-Ferdinand University in Prague and moved to the newly established Goethe University Frankfurt in 1919.
The Corps Suevia Freiburg is one of the oldest German Student Corps, known as a Studentenverbindung or student corporation. It is located at the Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg.
Kartellverband katholischer deutscher Studentenvereine is a German academic corporate association with ninety member corporations in Germany, Austria, [Belgium], and Switzerland. It was incorporated November 29, 1865. As of February 2008, the Alliance represents 16,000 students in Germany alone.
A Zirkel is a monogram used in European student societies in countries such as Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Hungary, Latvia, Estonia.
Leonensia is a male student fraternity (Studentenverbindung) in Heidelberg. Unlike most German fraternities, members wear no couleur and are not obliged to engage in academic fencing. It was founded in 1871 and ranks among Central Europe's oldest non-couleur-wearing fraternities. In 1919, Leonensia and five other fraternities founded the umbrella organization Miltenberger Ring.
The German Burschenschaft (DB) is an association of Burschenschaften ; a co-operation of student associations of a certain form in Germany and Austria. It was created in 1881 as a General Deputies Convent (ADC) and received its current name in 1902. It goes back to the ideas associated with the founding of the native fraternetie in Jena in the year 1815. The ideal goals are outlined in the motto "Honour - Freedom - Fatherland".
Burschenschaft Hannovera is the oldest Burschenschaft, a traditional liberal German Student fraternity or student corporation (Studentenverbindung), incorporated in Göttingen in the Revolution year 1848 (May) at the Georg August University of Göttingen. The founding group was a circle of graduates of the lyceum in Hanover who were studying at Göttingen. Hannovera was chosen as name because the founders where citizens of the Kingdom of Hanover. Hannovera is a lifelong bond (Lebensbund), which brings together students and alumni of Göttingen University. It is the only one of the classic German fraternities ever to include a woman: the Swedish Nightingale Jenny Lind.
