61-580: The Kurt-Koffka Medal , Kurt Koffka Medal , Kurt Koffka Award , or Koffka Prize is an annual, international award bestowed by Giessen University 's Department of Psychology for "advancing the fields of perception or developmental psychology to an extraordinary extent". The prize commemorates the German psychologist Kurt Koffka , a pioneer of Gestalt Psychology , in particular in the fields of perception and developmental psychology. Koffka worked at Giessen University for 16 years, from 1911 to 1927. The medal
122-486: A counter-weight to papal policies. He put his primary support behind conciliarists , irenicists and humanists . When the papacy instigated the Counter-Reformation by using agents sent to his court, Rudolf backed those who he thought were the most neutral in the debate, were not taking a side or trying to effect restraint. That led to political chaos and threatened to provoke civil war. His conflict with
183-459: A double grave at Alter Friedhof cemetery in Giessen. That both died on the same day sparked the myth that they had fought against each other in a duel . However, in 2008 the local newspaper Gießener Allgemeine Zeitung , referencing a 1939 chronicle of the fraternity Corps Teutonia zu Gießen which Karl von Müller co-founded, revealed that both students had died of typhus . Von Müller had contracted
244-501: A menagerie of exotic animals, botanical gardens, and Europe's most extensive " cabinet of curiosities " ( Kunstkammer ) incorporating "the three kingdoms of nature and the works of man". It was housed at Prague Castle , where between 1587 and 1605 he built the northern wing to house his growing collections. A lion and a tiger were allowed to roam the castle, as is documented by the account books, which record compensation paid to survivors of attacks or to family members of victims. Rudolf
305-773: A new war against the Ottomans, but Matthias rallied support from the disaffected Hungarians and forced Rudolf to cede the crowns of Hungary, Austria and Moravia to him. Meanwhile, the Bohemian Protestants demanded greater religious liberty, which Rudolf granted in the Letter of Majesty in 1609. Bohemians continued to press for further freedoms, and Rudolf used his army to repress them. Bohemian Protestants then appealed to Matthias for help. His army held Rudolf prisoner in his castle in Prague until 1611, when Rudolf ceded
366-466: A recluse who did not like to travel or even partake in the daily affairs of the state. He was more intrigued by occult learning such as astrology and alchemy , which was mainstream in the Renaissance period, and had a wide variety of personal hobbies such as horses, clocks, collecting rarities, and being a patron of the arts. He suffered from periodic bouts of " melancholy " (depression), which
427-560: A series of valets . One of them, Philipp Lang von Langenfels (1560–1609), influenced him for years and was hated by those seeking favours with the emperor. Rudolf succeeded his father, Maximilian II, on 12 October 1576. In 1583, he moved the court to Prague . In 1607, Rudolf sent Julius to live at Český Krumlov , in Bohemia , in what is now the Czech Republic , a castle that Rudolf had purchased from Peter Vok of Rosenberg ,
488-662: Is a large public research university in Giessen , Hesse , Germany . It is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in the German-speaking world . It is named after its most famous faculty member, Justus von Liebig , the founder of modern agricultural chemistry and inventor of artificial fertiliser. It covers the areas of arts/humanities, business, dentistry, economics, law, medicine, science, social sciences and veterinary medicine. Its university hospital , which has two sites, Giessen and Marburg (the latter of which
549-652: Is an Ethiopian teacher and politician who leads the FDRE Minister of Planning and Development. Also Hans-Joachim Preuss , former Secretary General of Welthungerhilfe and managing director of the giz (gtz) graduated and worked at the University of Giessen. Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I , 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He
610-410: Is often used in art history to describe the style of the art that he patronised. His love of collecting went far beyond paintings and sculptures. He commissioned decorative objects of all kinds and in particular mechanical moving devices. Ceremonial swords and musical instruments, clocks, waterworks, astrolabes, compasses, telescopes and other scientific instruments were all produced for him by some of
671-520: Is shown in the info box. A recipient's name is engraved on the outer ring at the bottom. The other side is an embossed version of the seal of the university . Nomination forms are sent by the members of the Committee to large numbers of individuals, usually in September the year before the award is made. These individuals are generally prominent academics working in a relevant area. The members of
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#1732787357078732-866: Is the teaching hospital of the University of Marburg ), is the only private university hospital in Germany. The University of Giessen is among the oldest institutions of higher educations in the German-speaking world. It was founded in 1607 as a Lutheran university in the city of Giessen in Hesse-Darmstadt because the all-Hessian Landesuniversität (the nearby University of Marburg ( Philipps-Universität Marburg ) in Marburg , Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel)) had become Reformed (that is, Calvinist ). Louis V, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt , whence
793-501: The Kunstkammer and in 1609 published Gemmarum et Lapidum , the finest gemological treatise and encyclopedia ever written for this time. As was customary at the time, the collection was private, but friends of the emperor, artists and professional scholars were allowed to study it. The collection became an invaluable research tool during the flowering of 17th-century European philosophy . Rudolf's successors did not appreciate
854-763: The Long Turkish War (1593–1606) with the Ottoman Empire . Exhausted by war, his citizens in Hungary revolted in the Bocskai Uprising , which led to more authority given to his brother Matthias . Under his reign, there was a policy of toleration towards Judaism . Rudolf was born in Vienna on 18 July 1552. He was the eldest son and successor of Maximilian II , Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia , and King of Hungary and Croatia ; his mother
915-592: The Northern Mannerist style, such as Bartholomeus Spranger , Hans von Aachen , Giambologna , Giuseppe Arcimboldo , Aegidius Sadeler , Roelant Savery , Joris Hoefnagel and Adrian de Vries , as well as commissioning works from Italians like Paolo Veronese . Rudolf's collections were the most impressive in the Europe of his day and the greatest collection of Northern Mannerist art ever to be assembled. The adjective Rudolfine, as in "Rudolfine Mannerism"
976-779: The Orléans Collection after the death of Christina of Sweden . In 1782, the remainder of the collection was sold piecemeal to private parties by Joseph II . One of the surviving items from the Kunstkammer is a "fine chair" that was looted by the Swedes in 1648 and now owned by the Earl of Radnor at Longford Castle in England, and others survive in museums. Astrology and alchemy were regarded as mainstream scientific fields in Renaissance Prague , and Rudolf
1037-460: The Ottoman Empire was the final cause of his undoing. Unwilling to compromise with the Ottomans and stubbornly determined that he could unify all of Christendom with a new crusade , he started a long and indecisive war against the Ottomans in 1593. The war lasted until 1606 and is known as the " Long Turkish War ". By 1604, his Hungarian subjects were exhausted by the war and revolted, led by Stephen Bocskai ( Bocskai uprising ). In 1605, Rudolf
1098-547: The Committee prepare a report reflecting the advice of experts in the relevant fields. Source: Justus Liebig University, Giessen Unlike some science awards, such as the Nobel prize , the Kurt-Koffka medal has a good gender balance of recipients (by 2023, 11 men and 9 women). Giessen University University of Giessen , official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (German: Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen ),
1159-535: The Faculty of Economics, new practical subjects were brought together ( veterinary medicine , forestry , and cameral sciences ), which the university was supposed to make "expedient" and "profitable". (One of the earliest courses of study in forestry in Europe.) After finishing studies in this Faculty, a number of these youths were able to gain recognition in the Faculties of Medicine and Philosophy. They established
1220-554: The Rudolfine Kunstkammer was systematically arranged in an encyclopaedic fashion. In addition, Rudolf employed his court gemologist and physician Anselmus Boetius de Boodt (1550–1632), to curate the collection. Anselmus was an avid mineral collector and travelled widely on collecting trips to the mining regions of Germany, Bohemia and Silesia , often accompanied by his Bohemian naturalist friend, Thaddaeus Hagecius . Between 1607 and 1611, Anselmus catalogued
1281-598: The Rutherford atomic model 's creator, studied in Giessen. Alumnus William Schlich founded Oxford University 's forestry program. Ruth Kajander was a psychiatrist who pioneered use of chlorpromazine as a treatment for schizophrenia. Carl A. Schenck , who received his PhD in forestry from Giessen, founded the Biltmore Forest School , the first such school in the United States. Fitsum Assefa
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#17327873570781342-698: The Veterinary Faculty. Recent alumni in the area of politics include current President of Germany and former Vice Chancellor and Minister for Foreign Affairs Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Brigitte Zypries , current Federal Minister of Economic Affairs and Energy and former Federal Minister of Justice. Notable alumni of the university include organic chemist August Kekulé , X-ray physicist Simone Techert , health sociologist Thomas Abel , romantic dramatist and revolutionary Georg Büchner , literary and political historian Georg Gottfried Gervinus and botanist Johann Jacob Dillenius . Ernest Rutherford ,
1403-505: The arts, occult sciences, and other personal interests for the political disasters of his reign. More recently historians have re-evaluated that view and see his patronage of the arts and occult sciences as a triumph and key part of the Renaissance, and his political failures are seen as a legitimate attempt to create a unified Christian empire that was undermined by the realities of religious, political and intellectual disintegrations of
1464-419: The best craftsmen in Europe. He patronized natural philosophers such as the botanist Charles de l'Ecluse , and the astronomers Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler both attended his court. Tycho, who had spent much of his life making observations of stars and planets that were more accurate than any previous observations, directed Kepler to work on the planet Mars. In doing so, Kepler found that in order to fit
1525-465: The best scientific instrument makers of the time, such as Jost Bürgi , Erasmus Habermel and Hans Christoph Schissler . They had direct contact with the court astronomers and through the financial support of the court were economically independent to develop scientific instruments and manufacturing techniques. The poet Elizabeth Jane Weston , a writer of Renaissance Latin poetry, was also part of his court and wrote numerous odes to him. Rudolf kept
1586-444: The collection was moved to the dedicated Kunstkammer . Naturalia ( minerals and gemstones ) were arranged in a 37-cabinet display that had three vaulted chambers in front, each about 5.5 m wide by 3 m high and 60 m long, connected to a main chamber 33 m long. Large uncut gemstones were held in strong boxes. Apart from the fantastic nature of the objects, it is also the aesthetics of their arrangement and presentation which attracts
1647-461: The collection, and the Kunstkammer gradually fell into disarray. Some 50 years after its establishment, most of the collection was packed into wooden crates and moved to Vienna. The collection remaining at Prague was looted during the last year of the Thirty Years' War by Swedish troops who sacked Prague Castle on 26 July 1648 and took the best of the paintings, many of which later passed to
1708-630: The crown of Bohemia, as well, to his brother. Rudolf died in 1612, nine months after he had been stripped of all effective power by his younger brother, except the empty title of Holy Roman Emperor, to which Matthias was elected five months later. In May 1618 with the event known as the Defenestration of Prague , the Protestant Bohemians, in defence of the rights granted them in the Letter of Majesty , threw imperial officials out of
1769-552: The disease while nursing his sick friend. The Corps buried both students after a torch-lit funeral procession. According to the 2024 QS World University Rankings , the university was placed 396th globally and 22nd nationally. In the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings for 2023, it fell within the 351–400 bracket internationally and ranked between 34th and 36th at the national level. The 2023 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) placed
1830-487: The extension of Gestalt theory to developmental psychology. Each year since 2006, a committee of Giessen University Department of Psychology has sought nominations and decided on the recipient(s) of the award. The first medal was awarded in 2007 to Martin "Marty" Banks. The one exception was 2020, when the award ceremony was deferred to 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic . The medal is bronze. The front (obverse) side
1891-460: The first time included in the student body were women, who since 1900 were admitted as guest students and starting in 1908 were admitted for regular study. After the different Hessian states were (re-)united in 1929, both universities became public universities of that German state. The University of Giessen now has almost 23,000 students and 8,500 employees, which together with the Giessen students of Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen , makes Giessen
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1952-402: The first time. In the years 2019 to 2021 the student number was about 28,300, with a decrease to 27,400 students in the winter term 2021/2022 (probably due to COVID restrictions). Although the university has no defined campus, buildings and facilities are grouped together according to their subject areas and situated in various locations around Giessen. Philosophikum II, for example is an area on
2013-459: The four common faculties (theology, law, medicine, and philosophy). The instruction was reasonable, with about 20 to 25 professors teaching several hundred students, the latter of which were mostly "Landeskinder". In the 18th century came gradual modernization of the curricula and reforms in the instruction, which were definitively influenced by the local lordly court in Darmstadt. The example for
2074-417: The institution in the 601–700 range globally, and between 37th and 40th nationally. Next to Liebig, famous professors at the university included the physician Georg Haas (who carried out the world's first human hemodialysis in Giessen in 1924), the theologian Adolf von Harnack , the lawyer Rudolf von Jhering , the economist and statistician Etienne Laspeyres , the physicist Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen ,
2135-532: The last member of the House of Rosenberg , who had fallen into financial ruin. Julius lived at Český Krumlov in 1608, when he reportedly abused and murdered the daughter of a local barber, who had been living in the castle, and then disfigured her body. Rudolf condemned his son's act and suggested that he should be imprisoned for the rest of his life. However, Julius died in 1609 after he had shown signs of schizophrenia , refused to bathe and lived in squalor. His death
2196-465: The lawyer Rudolf von Jhering , the theologian Adolf von Harnack , the mathematician Moritz Pasch and the physicist Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen . At the turn of the 20th century, the Ludoviciana began to expand into a modern university. During this period, new clinics in human and veterinary medicine were established, and the university library received its first proper building. With the creation of
2257-476: The mathematicians Moritz Pasch and Alfred Clebsch , the gestalt psychologist Kurt Koffka , the philologist and archaeologist Friedrich Gottlieb Welcker , the orientalists Friedrich Schwally , Paul E. Kahle and Eberhard Schrader , and the president of Hebrew University of Jerusalem Benjamin Mazar . From 1901 to 1918 Hermann Friedrich Gmeiner was the first Professor for veterinary internal medicine at
2318-462: The most student-dominated German city. In December 2019 the university shut down all of its IT-servers after a "serious IT security incident". Hess State Prosecution Office investigated the case of a suspected hacker-attack. Following is the growth in the student population of University of Giessen In the 2014/2015 winter semester the student population exceeded the mark of more than a total of 28,000 students and 7,000 first-semester students for
2379-512: The observations to the required accuracy, it was necessary to assume that each planet orbits the sun in an ellipse with the sun at one focus, sweeping out equal areas in equal times. Thus were born two of Kepler's laws of planetary motion . It was Rudolf's patronage of the two astronomers that made this possible, as Kepler recognized when he eventually published the Rudolphine Tables . As mentioned earlier, Rudolf also attracted some of
2440-436: The outskirts of the city bordering the city forest. A number of faculty buildings and lecture theaters are located there, including Audimax, a building containing several lecture halls whose atrium is often the venue for concerts and disco nights, locally known as "Uni-Party". Two law students of University of Giessen, Karl Siegfrieden (4 June 1822 – 10 March 1840) and Karl von Müller (10 June 1799 – 10 March 1840), are buried in
2501-520: The reforms were both of the "model universities of the Enlightenment", the University of Halle, founded in 1694, and more still Georgia Augusta, founded in Göttingen in 1734/37. Indeed, all attempts at reform were from the start limited by the limited finances of Hesse-Darmstadt. The noteworthy creation of a Faculty of Economics (1777–1785) was ultimately born out of this financial hardship. In
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2562-505: The revolutionary spirit of this decade. With the appointment of the 21-year-old Justus von Liebig in 1824 through the Grand Duchy—against the will of the university on the recommendation of Alexander von Humboldt —a new era in the natural sciences began, not only in Giessen. Young, promising scientists created a new impulse in their respective areas of knowledge; among these scientists were the antiquarian Friedrich Gottlieb Welcker ,
2623-563: The time. Although raised in his uncle's Catholic court in Spain, Rudolf was tolerant of Protestantism and other religions including Judaism . The tolerant policy by the empire towards the Jews would see Jewish cultural life flourishing, and their population increased under Rudolf's reign. He largely withdrew from Catholic observances and even in death refused the last sacramental rites. He had little attachment to Protestants either, except as
2684-487: The university got its original name "Ludoviciana", founded his own institution of higher education in Giessen, which as a Lutheran institution had the primary function of ensuring the education of pastors and civil servants. Endowed with a charter issued by Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor , on 19 May 1607, the university was allowed to proceed with instruction in October 1607. During the Thirty Years' War , when Hesse-Darmstadt
2745-433: The university's central building (inaugurated 1880) and the adjacent newly constructed facilities for chemistry and physics a new cultural centre was established on what was then the border of the city. The decisive backer of this project was the last Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig, to whom the university bestowed out of thankfulness the honorary title of "Rector Magnificentissimus". In 1902 the student body surpassed one thousand. For
2806-512: The unusually diverse course offerings that continue to exist to the modern day at the University of Giessen. The University of Giessen weathered the transition from the 18th to the 19th century unscathed and was still the only university of an enlarged territory, the Grand Duchy of Hesse . Alongside Jena, Giessen was the prototype for the politicized Vormärz university, and the "Giessener Schwarzen" with Karl Follen and Georg Büchner , marked
2867-444: The visitor's attention. Without, however, there being a desire for purely scientific systematization on the part of the sovereign, it is necessary to detect the harmonious expression of the order of God and discern in the micro-macrocosm the analogy of a mimetic dependence on human arts towards nature and the world. Rudolf's Kunstkammer was not a typical "cabinet of curiosities", a haphazard collection of unrelated specimens. Rather,
2928-499: The window and thus the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) started. Rudolf moved the Habsburg capital from Vienna to Prague in 1583. Rudolf loved collecting paintings and was often reported to sit and stare in rapture at a new work for hours on end. He spared no expense in acquiring great past masterworks, such as those of Dürer and Brueghel . He was also patron to some of the best contemporary artists, who mainly produced new works in
2989-425: Was a firm devotee of both. His lifelong quest was to find the philosopher's stone , and Rudolf spared no expense in bringing Europe's best alchemists to court, such as Edward Kelley and John Dee . Rudolf even performed his own experiments in a private alchemy laboratory. When Rudolf was a prince, Nostradamus prepared a horoscope , which was dedicated to him as 'Prince and King'. In the 1590s, Michael Sendivogius
3050-485: Was a member of the House of Habsburg . Rudolf's legacy has traditionally been viewed in three ways: an ineffectual ruler whose mistakes led directly to the Thirty Years' War ; a great and influential patron of Northern Mannerist art; and an intellectual devotee of occult arts and learning which helped seed what would be called the Scientific Revolution . Determined to unify Christendom , he initiated
3111-457: Was able to take the area around Marburg for itself, the University of Giessen ceased instruction and was moved back to its more long-standing location in Marburg (1624/25). The Peace of Westphalia led to the restoration of the old location and in 1650 to the relocation of the university to Giessen. In the 17th and 18th centuries the Ludoviciana was a typical small state university that then had
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#17327873570783172-465: Was active at Rudolph's court. Rudolf gave Prague a mystical reputation that persists in part to this day, with Alchemists' Alley l, on the grounds of Prague Castle, being a popular visiting place and tourist attraction . Rudolf was a patron of the occult sciences. That and his practice of tolerance towards Jews caused during his reign the legend of the Golem of Prague to be established. Rudolf had
3233-528: Was also in his possessions. As was typical of the time, Rudolf II had a portrait painted in the studio of the renowned Alonso Sánchez Coello . Completed in 1567, the portrait depicted Rudolf II at the age of 15. This painting can be seen at the Lobkowicz Palace in the Rozmberk room. By 1597, the collection occupied three rooms of the incomplete northern wing. When building was completed in 1605,
3294-465: Was apparently caused by an ulcer that ruptured. Many artworks commissioned by Rudolf are unusually erotic. The emperor was the subject of a whispering campaign by his enemies in his family and the Catholic Church in the years before he was deposed. Sexual allegations may well have formed a part of the campaign against him. Historians have traditionally blamed Rudolf's preoccupation with
3355-581: Was common in the Habsburg line. These became worse with age and were manifested by a withdrawal from the world and its affairs into his private interests. Like Elizabeth I of England , whose birth was 19 years before his, Rudolf dangled himself as a prize in a string of diplomatic negotiations for marriages but never in fact married. Rudolf was known to have had a succession of affairs with women, some of whom claimed to have been impregnated by him. He had several illegitimate children by his mistress Catherina Strada . Their eldest son, Don Julius Caesar d'Austria ,
3416-525: Was concerned about Rudolf's aloof and stiff manner, typical of the more conservative Spanish court, rather than the more relaxed and open Austrian court; but his Spanish mother saw in him courtliness and refinement. In the years following his return to Vienna, Rudolf was crowned King of Hungary (1572), King of Bohemia and King of the Romans (1575) when his father was still alive. For the rest of his life, Rudolf would remain reserved, secretive, and largely
3477-529: Was even alleged by one person to have owned the Voynich manuscript , a codex whose author and purpose, as well as the language and script and posited cipher remain unidentified to this day. According to hearsay passed on in a letter written by Johannes Marcus Marci in 1665, Rudolf was said to have acquired the manuscript at some unspecified time for 600 gold ducats . No evidence in support of this single piece of hearsay has ever been discovered. The Codex Gigas
3538-482: Was first awarded in 2007. The medal is notable among psychologists. Kurt Koffka (18 March 1886 – 22 November 1941) was a German psychologist . He was born and educated in Berlin . Along with Max Wertheimer and his close associate Wolfgang Köhler they established Gestalt psychology . Koffka's wide-ranging interests included perception, hearing impairments in brain-damaged patients, interpretation , learning , and
3599-461: Was forced by his other family members to cede control of Hungarian affairs to his younger brother Archduke Matthias . By 1606, Matthias had forged a difficult peace with the Hungarian rebels ( Peace of Vienna ) and the Ottomans ( Peace of Zsitvatorok ). Rudolf was angry with Matthias's concessions and saw them as giving away too much to further his hold on power. That made Rudolf prepare to start
3660-484: Was likely born between 1584 and 1586 and received an education and opportunities for political and social prominence from his father. Another famous child was Caroline (1591–1662), Princess of Cantecroix, mother-in-law of Beatrice de Cusance , later Duchess of Lorraine as the second wife of Charles IV of Lorraine . During his periods of self-imposed isolation, Rudolf reportedly had affairs with his Obersthofmeister , Wolfgang Siegmund Rumpf vom Wullroß (1536–1606), and
3721-584: Was the Spanish Princess Maria , a daughter of Charles V and Isabella of Portugal . He was the elder brother of Matthias who was to succeed him as King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor. Rudolf spent eight formative years, from age 11 to 19 (1563–1571), in Spain, at the court of his maternal uncle Philip II , together with his younger brother Ernest , future governor of the Low Countries . After his return to Vienna, his father
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