At the end of the 19th century, the idea that women could pursue higher education was considered an affront by many in Germany. While female students were already attending lectures in the US, France, and even Switzerland, women in Germany were still denied access to higher education. But resistance began to stir in Karlsruhe – and it came from the women themselves.

First steps toward equal rights

As early as 1885, a private painting school for women was founded under the patronage of Grand Duchess Luise, since women were not permitted to attend the state-run Academy of Fine Arts. Two years later, following a resolution by the Karlsruhe municipal council, women were allowed to attend lectures at the Technical University as guest auditors – but only in art history and literary history. Clara Immerwahr, a chemist with a doctorate and wife of future Nobel Prize laureate Fritz Haber, gave public education lectures on “Chemistry in the Kitchen and the Home.” Although the topic reflected traditional gender roles, it marked an initial step toward scientific participation.

The breakthrough – finally enrolled

The turning point came in 1900: the state of Baden allowed women to enroll in university on a trial basis. Johanna Kappes from Karlsruhe was among the first women to be officially matriculated. Her fellow student Magdalena Meub later became Germany’s first licensed female pharmacist, and Thekla Schild became Baden’s first female graduate engineer. In 1915, Irene Rosenberg became the first woman to earn a doctorate at the Institute of Chemistry.

Yet the path to academia remained difficult for women: in the 1920s, they were still a rare presence at the Technical University. Under National Socialist rule, women were pushed back into the domestic sphere: in 1934, restrictions on university admission, compulsory labor service, and a dramatic decline in female student numbers were introduced.

A slow awakening

After World War II, women gradually returned to the Technical University. But it was not until the 1960s that their numbers began to rise noticeably. The social transformations of the time – broader access to education, new career paths, and growing youth self-confidence – were also reflected in the lecture halls. In 1970, women made up eight percent of the student body; by 1980, the figure had risen to over 14 percent. The doors were open, but many women still had to fight for their place.

Today, women account for around 29 percent of KIT’s student population. The first female professor, Dagmar Gerthsen, was appointed in 1993. By 2022, 18 percent of professorships were held by women. The fight for educational equality has borne fruit – and is far from over. KIT is now actively committed to equal opportunity and diversity: “At KIT, we are proud of the close ties between students, alumni and alumnae, researchers, instructors, and staff, because our diversity is our strength. It is not only a given, but also the driving force behind creativity and innovation,” said Jan S. Hesthaven, President of KIT, in his speech marking the 200th anniversary.

mex, August 14, 2025

Otto Lehmann conducted research on “living crystals” at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) – and laid the foundation for modern displays. When Lehmann assumed the chair of physics at what was then the Karlsruhe Polytechnic in 1889, no one could have imagined that his research would one day end up in almost every pocket. The successor to Heinrich Hertz was an inventor with vision – and a fascination for the invisible.

An Idea Ahead of Its Time

Using a microscope he had developed himself, which featured its own light source and a heatable sample stage, Lehmann observed the behavior of chemical substances as they melted and solidified. In doing so, he discovered something entirely new: states of matter that behaved neither like liquids nor like solid crystals – but like both at once.
Lehmann called them “apparently living crystals.” Today, we know them as liquid crystals – the basis for LCDs (liquid crystal displays) used in flat screens, tablets, and smartphones. In 1904, Lehmann published his groundbreaking findings in the book Flüssige Kristalle (Liquid Crystals). But his contemporaries dismissed him as an eccentric. A colleague in Karlsruhe sneered that Lehmann was “horribly one-sided in his focus on liquid crystals.” The scientific community ignored him – and his discovery was forgotten for decades.

From Outsider to Pioneer

It wasn’t until the 1970s, when the first LCDs were developed, that people remembered the pioneer from Karlsruhe. Today, every liquid crystal laboratory uses a microscope based on Lehmann’s design, and his name has long since been rehabilitated – as the founder of a technology that makes our digital world visible.

mex, July 30, 2025

Hydrogen holds great potential for a sustainable energy supply. The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) has been researching the potential of this element for decades. As early as the 19th century, Professor Hans Bunte developed processes for coal refinement here, which produced gasoline, aromatics, phenol, and hydrogen-rich town gas, among other things. His work on improving the efficiency of gas production and determining calorific values was groundbreaking for the German gas industry – and thus also for the use of hydrogen. Due to its high energy density, town gas was soon used for street lighting, domestic heating, and in industrial applications in the Ruhr area and other regions.

Today, CO₂-neutral hydrogen production is the focus of research at KIT. Scientists are therefore developing electrolysis processes powered by renewable energy, testing hydrogen production at sea, and working on pipelines for the combined transport of hydrogen and electricity. The aim is to achieve a safe, clean, and affordable energy supply.

Motivation: The Oil Crisis – The Hydrogen-Powered VW Bus

A milestone in the development was a hydrogen-powered bus in 1986. In response to the oil crisis of the 1970s, the former Karlsruhe Nuclear Research Centre converted a VW bus into a fuel cell vehicle. The bus ran on hydrogen from gas cylinders and was approved for road use. It was tested on what is now the North Campus and at the famous Hockenheimring race track. The fuel cell converted hydrogen and oxygen into water – the only “exhaust” was water vapor.

Many years later, KIT itself adopted this type of drive: Between 2013 and 2024, a hydrogen shuttle bus has been commuting between the North Campus and South Campus of KIT. The technology is now also being developed for trains, trucks, and aircraft.

mex, July 17, 2025

During early industrialization, chemistry provided solutions to Germany’s limited natural resources. Chemicals like potash and soda were essential for leather tanning and the production of linen, glass, soap, and gunpowder. The challenges included developing new processes and distinguishing chemistry from mechanical engineering. Pioneers such as Karl Weltzien and mechanical engineer Ferdinand Redtenbacher made groundbreaking advances by promoting systematic research and clearly defining these separate fields, which was crucial for industrial progress.

First World Congress of Chemistry in Karlsruhe

Weltzien laid the foundation for chemical research at KIT. He initially set up a private laboratory in his home so students could gain hands-on experience, and along with Redtenbacher, he pushed for the separation of chemistry and mechanical engineering, which were closely intertwined in teaching at the time. In 1851, the Polytechnic Institute established a modern chemical laboratory based on his concepts, making Karlsruhe a center for chemical research.

One outcome of this development was the world’s first specialized chemistry congress held in Karlsruhe in September 1860.Organized by Weltzien and August Kekulé, the elite of international chemists gathered to standardize terms and symbols like atom, molecule, and basicity, which had yet to be clearly defined. Although the researchers didn’t resolve every issue, the worst confusion was over, as Carl Engler (1842–1925), the “nestor” of Karlsruhe chemistry, later reflected.

Karlsruhe as a Breeding Ground for Breakthroughs in Chemical Science

Engler conducted research on dyes and challenges in the dye industry. In 1884, he began studying petroleum and is considered the founder of German mineral oil science. As a member of BASF’s supervisory board, he helped pave the way for the industrial application of groundbreaking discoveries made by Karlsruhe scientists, including the production of nitrogen fertilizer based on Fritz Haber’s research.

Lothar Meyer succeeded Weltzien in 1868. His work, 'Die modernen Theorien der Chemie' (Modern Theories of Chemistry), included the first version of the periodic table. In 1869, he presented his ideas about elements in today’s main groups, arranged by atomic weight and valence. This allowed Meyer to predict the properties of previously unknown elements like gallium, scandium, and germanium.

Hans Bunte, an expert in gas, fuel, and combustion technology, was appointed Chair of Chemical Technology in 1887. Bunte laid the theoretical foundations for heat generation and was the first to determine the calorific value of many fuels. He also developed coal refinement processes that enabled the production of gasoline, town gas, and key chemicals such as aromatics and phenol. At a time when petroleum was not yet widespread, these processes were enormously important. Bunte helped make Karlsruhe a center of the German energy industry.

March  21, 2025

Photo:

Meyer: KIT Archive;
Periodic table of elements: Wikipedia, last accessed on March 21, 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lothar_Meyer#/media/File:Periodic_table_Meyer_1864.png, Public Domain, CC BY-SA 4.0;
Collage: KIT

The Cuckoo Clock: Pop Icon from Karlsruhe

The iconic design of the Black Forest cuckoo clock traces its roots to Karlsruhe, Germany. It was created in 1850 by railway enthusiast Friedrich Eisenlohr.

A Style Icon and Its Creator

Friedrich Eisenlohr found inspiration for the cuckoo clock in his architectural plans for railway stations in Baden. It’s no coincidence that the clock’s case resembles a charming signalman’s hut—Eisenlohr, a professor at the Karlsruhe Polytechnic, was responsible for designing most of the stations from the Baden State Railway, from 1838 on. His designs shaped key stations in Mannheim, Heidelberg, and Baden-Baden, as well as the old Karlsruhe station, which once stood near today’s State Theatre and served as a model for numerous stations in Baden. Over his career, Eisenlohr designed more than 300 signalmen’s huts, leaving a lasting mark on the region’s railway landscape.
Eisenlohr designed the cuckoo clock for a competition organized by Robert Gerwig, director of the Furtwangen watchmaking school, which was founded in 1850 to support the struggling Black Forest clockmaking industry. The winning design was produced in 1855 by Kreuzer, Gatz & Co. and quickly became a beloved romantic symbol, its influence extending far beyond the Black Forest.

Engineers from the Polytechnic Shaped Transportation and Urban Landscapes Across Baden

Civil engineer Robert Gerwig, a graduate of the Polytechnic, dedicated much of his career building transportation routes for the Baden Water and Roads Directorate, including the Black Forest Railway, known for its innovative design.
As a professor, Eisenlohr – whose statue decorates the main Court of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) - influenced a generation of architects, including Reinhard Baumeister, a pioneer of the garden city movement. From the 1870s to the mid-1890s, Baumeister designed numerous green districts in Baden, such as Mannheim’s Oststadt, parts of Heilbronn, Heidelberg’s Weststadt, and the redevelopment of former fortress areas in Rastatt. He also planned several picturesque railway routes through the scenic side valleys of the Rhine plain, including the Murg Valley, Rench Valley, and Breisach Railway—routes still popular with tourists today.

Want to learn more? Discover the rich history of KIT and the people who have shaped it in KIT History, available for online order from the KIT Shop.

200 Years of Pioneering Spirit: The Birth of Scientific Mechanical Engineering

When mechanical engineer Ferdinand Redtenbacher was appointed to the Polytechnic School in 1841, he established nothing less than scientific mechanical engineering in Germany. The ambitious teaching of the Austrian-born Redtenbacher not only brought Karlsruhe international recognition in the engineering world but also became a driving force behind industrialization in Baden, Germany, and beyond.

Redtenbacher believed that mechanical engineering was more than just a trade — he saw it as a science grounded in mathematical and physical principles. At a time when mechanical engineering relied primarily on experience and craftsmanship, and engineers were seen as little more than skilled mechanics, Redtenbacher set out to make engineering more scientific and mathematical. He introduced mathematical and mechanical principles to the field in order to systematically understand and design machines.

His vision was to surpass England, which was far ahead in industrialization, by applying scientific methods to engineering development. In 1835, Germany's first railroad line, connecting Nuremberg and Fürth, had to rely entirely on imported components from Great Britain — from the rails and wagons to the locomotive, the coal, and even the engineer and fireman. By 1847, however, German locomotives had already surpassed their English counterparts in technical capability. One example was the Badenia, built by Maschinenfabrik Karlsruhe, a company founded in 1837 by Emil Kessler and Theodor Martiensen, both graduates of the Polytechnic. German mechanical engineering had come into its own, no longer dependent on its former pioneers for the era's most complex technologies.

In the 1850s, German heavy industry saw a major breakthrough, to which many of Redtenbacher's students contributed. Heinrich Buz, for example, collaborated with Rudolf Diesel and co-founded MAN, a company that developed the diesel engine and contributed to Germany's industrial revolution. Similarly, Eugen Langen worked alongside Nikolaus August Otto to develop the Otto engine, which earned a gold medal at the 1867 World's Fair in Paris and laid the foundation for modern internal combustion engines.

Curious to learn more? Dive into the rich history of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and its influential personalities in the comprehensive KIT History, available for online order.