The historical development of the Institute of Geography from 1946 to the present day

With the reopening of the fourteenth oldest German university, founded in 1477, the Department of Geography was also reestablished in Mainz on May 22, 1946. The University of Mainz owes its resurrection after the Second World War to the French occupying power, which saw the University of Mainz as a renowned institution in the sense of the intellectual-democratic reorganization of Germany from National Socialism and actively pursued the active development of the university. Geography was one of the pioneering subjects at the re-established Mainz University and the Department of Geography expanded, especially in the 1970s, to become one of the largest institutes at Mainz University, just as Mainz University as a whole became one of the largest German universities.

While the basic mission of geography in Mainz remained unchanged since the reopening of Mainz University, focusing on human-spatial relationships, their developments, processes, causes and backgrounds, the social changes in Germany after the Second World War also changed the degree programs and degrees offered at the Department of Geography. The 1950s and 1960s were dominated by the training of prospective teachers and student councillors in teacher education at grammar schools and German secondary schools, while from the 1970s (and increasingly in the 1980s and 1990s) the training of Diplom geographers was added. In order to do justice to the broadened social mission of geography and to convey corresponding professional orientation in the program of study, “experimental” geography in Mainz also had to be greatly expanded – including the laboratories for geomorphology and ecology, cartography and aerial photography collection as well as a future-oriented PC and GIS pool in geography.

Several degree programs have been offered in parallel in geography since 2008. The old Magister and Diplom degree programs have been replaced by the Bachelor and Master of Science (physical geography) and Master of Arts (human geography) degree programs. The Bachelor and Master of Education degree programs replace the teacher education for Gymnasium. The Master of Science Climate and Environmental Change in Physical Geography focuses on climate and environmental change at different temporal and spatial scales. The Master’s degree in Human Geography: Globalization, Items and Culture focuses on the renegotiation of spatial relationships between culture and society in the course of globalization processes.

Obviously, Mainz continues to be a popular and sought-after location for geography students, even though Mainz has remained predominantly a Rhineland-Palatinate “home university” over the years, which is reflected in the origin of the large number of students from Rhineland-Palatinate.

There are currently 8 university professors at the institute, covering the following programs of study and fields of research: Geoinformatics(Univ.-Prof. Dr. Michael Bruse), Cultural Geography (Univ.-Prof. Dr. Julia Verne), Human Geography (Prof. Dr. phil. Veronika Cummings ), Digital Cultures(Junior Professor Dr. Verena Brinks), Climatology-Dendrochonology(Professor Dr. Jan Esper), Soil Geography(Professor Dr. Sabine Fiedler), Geomorphology(Professor Dr. Andreas Vött) and Earth System Modelling(Professor Dr. Robert Reinecke). In the course of growing challenges, intensive research contacts with a number of foreign universities have been established at institute level. The Institute also owes its efficiency to the tireless efforts of (foreign) visiting professors, academic staff members and external adjunct lecturers, who further enrich the spectrum of research and teaching.