The Old University was built over a period of 23 years between 1712 and 1735, based on plans by the baroque architect Johann Adam Breunig. The structure replaced a four-story college building belonging to the university called the "Casimirianum," which had been erected in 1591 by the Count John Casimir.Frieder Hepp: Matthaeus Merian in Heidelberg. Ansichten einer Stadt. Heidelberger Verlagsanstalt, Heidelberg 1993, ISBN 3-89426-064-5, p. 31. The construction work was part of the rebuilding effort following the destruction of the city of Heidelberg in the War of the Palatine Succession (1688-1697). The building was at first named Domus Whilhelmiana, after the donor, Elector Johann Wilhelm. In 1886, on the occasion of the 500 year anniversary of the founding of the University of Heidelberg, the Alte Aula ("Old assembly hall") in the west wing was remodelled in the Renaissance Revival style. The current name, "Old University" came into use in the early 1930s following the erection of the lecture hall building known as on the opposite side of Universitätsplatz.
