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Federal Republic of Germany

Since Heidelberg was spared from destruction during World War II, the reconstruction of the university was realized rather quickly. With the foundation of the Collegium Academicum, Heidelberg University became the home of Germany's first and, until today, only self-governed student hall. Newly laid statutes obliged the university to "The Living Spirit of Truth, Justice and Humanity".

During the 1960s and 1970s, the university grew dramatically in size. At this time, it developed into one of the main scenes of the left-wing student protests in Germany. In 1975, a massive police force arrested the entire student parliament AStA. Shortly thereafter, the building of the Collegium Academicum, a progressive college in immediate vicinity to the university's main grounds, was stormed by over 700 police officers and closed once and for all. On the outskirts of the city, in the Neuenheimer Feld area, a large campus for medicine and natural sciences was constructed.

Today, about 28,000 students are enrolled for studies at Heidelberg University. There are 4,196 full-time faculty, including 476 university professors. In 2007, and again in 2012, the university was appointed University of Excellence under an initiative started by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the German Research Foundation. This enhanced the German university system by establishing a small network of exceptionally well-funded universities, which are expected to generate strong international appeal.

In 2022, a mass shooting occurred in the university, killing a woman and injuring three other people. The gunman then committed suicide.