Rostock

Rostock is an old Hanse Town, located at the baltic coast in the north east of Germany - a region is called 'Mecklenburg Vorpommern'. In Germany it is the region with the lowest density of people, which means that there is more space for wildlife. Below you will find a selection of pictures. What is missing are pictures from the nature reserves and national park around here. There are numerous lakes, moors and different forest areas with interesting and rare plants and animals. There are also no pictures of ugly tower blocks that can be found right next to recently renovated buildings. Even more than a decade after the unification between east and west Germany there are building sites everywhere. The city is constantly changing while the beautiful landscape is hopefully preserved. The scenic landscape attracts many tourists in summer. Apart from great beaches there is a lot of history to be found here. The University itself was founded in 1419. In terms of academic history, the following names are associated with Mecklenburg Vorpommern:

Tycho Brache, the danish astronomer and mathematician, known for his extensive studies of planets prior to the use of telescopes, spent as a student time at the University of Rostock. During this time, in 1566, an argument over some mathematical formulae (parables) with a fellow student ended in a swords duel, where Tycho Brache lost part of his nose.

Felix Hausdorff , best known for his work on topology and set theory, became professor at the University of Greifswald in 1913. Like with so many other outstanding scientists, the Nazi regime forced him to retire from his academic post. He decided to stay in Germany and committed suicide in 1942. Hausdorff had an interest in philosophy and published under the pseudonym Paul Mongre several philosophical texts.

Albert Einstein and Max Planck received in 1919 an honary doctoral degree from the University of Rostock. It was the only honary degree Einstein received in Germany. This was initiated by the Austrian physicist and philosopher Moritz Schlick. Sadly, Einstein was forced to leave Germany too.

Moritz Schlick, professor of "natural philosophy" in Rostock between 1911 and 1921, was a leading figure of the "Vienna Circle", a group of philosophers, scientists, and mathematicians that investigated scientific language and scientific methodology. The philosophical movement associated with the Circle has been called variously logical positivism, logical empiricism, scientific empiricism, neopositivism, and the unity of science movement. Schlick was shot dead by mentally disturbed former student.

Albrecht Kossel, born in Rostock got his doctoral degree in medicine from the University of Rostock. In 1910 he received the Nobel Price for Medicine and Physiology. Kossel's field of work was physiological chemistry, especially the chemistry of tissues and cells.

Gottlob Frege, mathematician and philosopher, reconceived the discipline of logic by constructing a formal system which, in effect, constituted the first 'predicate calculus'. Gottlob Frege's masterpiece, 'Begleitschrift', which appeared in 1879, is widely considered the birth of modern mathematical logic. In the 'Begleitschrift' he succeeded in simultaneously axiomatising logic and formalizing it. He conceived a comprehensive philosophy of language tried to show that mathematics was reducible to logic. He was born in 1848 in Wismar and died 1925 in Bad Kleinen, both towns in the region of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, close to Rostock.

Ernst Mayr, the evolutionary biologist who died on 4th February 2005, is frequently referred to as the Darwin of the 20th century. In 1923 Mayr studied medicine at the University of Greifswald before he changed to the zoological museum in Berlin. In 1931 he moved to New York and in 1953 to Harvard.

Rostock and Warnemünde - Photo Gallery

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Photos 1 - 19		Copyright (c) by Agency of Tourism Rostock - all rights reserved.
Photos 19 - 38		Copyright (c) by rostock-digital.com - all right reserved.