Wet but cheerful
First historical "Techniker-Bummel" (engineers' stroll) turned into “Singing in the Rain” but despite the downpour much insight into history was gained.
At the start of the winter term of the 150th anniversary year, Mittweida University and the town of Mittweida invited people to have a walk along the original, historical places. Immediately after the Matriculation ceremony in the local church "Unser lieben Frauen" (of our dear women), the freshmen, their relatives, professors and staff of the university as well as the citizens and guests of the university town were invited to join the historical "Techniker-Bummel".
Around 400 walkers eventually gathered in the market square in the early evening. Together with the Göritzhain fire brigade’s band and the students from the bratwurst booth they waited for the starting signal that Technicum founders Wilhelm Heinrich Uhland and Carl Georg Weitzel along with mayor Oskar Friedrich Kunze were going to give. Dressed up as those three historical figures from the 1870s were tour guide Matthias Kresowsky, university rector Ludwig Hilmer and Lord mayor Ralf Schreiber.
When the rain became more intense and some of the projection and transmission devices at the walk’s stations ran into danger of damage, it was decided to take a shortcut along Rochlitzer Straße. However, the three historic men insisted on at least giving a summary of Mittweida University's history, whose latest chapter includes receiving the official label of "University Town Mittweida".
In the beginning there was a “Straßenhochschule”…
It all began on 3 May 1865, when 25-year-old Württemberg-born Wilhelm Heinrich Uhland founded the "Uhland Technicum", a private higher educational institution which was to provide training for mechanical engineers. Even though Uhland already put considerable emphasis on relating theory and practice, he struggled to create an economically sound foundation. Carl Georg Weitzel, one of the teachers employed by Uhland, consequently took over the ambitious project and on 7 May 1867 opened "Technicum Mittweida" with the support of local entrepreneurs.
At first, "Uhland Technicum" settled in different buildings, mainly on "Rochlitzer Straße" and in the theatre (today's cinema), with offices, boarding school and class rooms. That infrastructure was kept on and expanded upon when Carl Georg Weitzel took over in 1867. It wasn’t until the 1890s that the "Technikum" buildings of today’s campus were built at the "Galgenberg", which was then located outside town limits.
The organization, which was operated by Weitzel and his successor Alfred Udo Holzt as a private educational institution, soon attracted many students: By the turn of the century it had become one of Germany’s biggest private schools training both mechanical and electrical engineers.
International "Techniker-Bummel" (engineer’s stroll) in the 1920s
In the past century, after each day's final lecture, in the late afternoon, students of the former "Technikum" - the "Techniker" (engineers) - would go and meet in one of Mittweida’s 60 eateries. This "Techniker- Bummel" had an impact on town life. In the mid-1920s, "Technikum Mittweida" had already accumulated some 2,300 young students. They mainly came from European countries but some also came from further afar, such as Asia. At times more than half of the student body was of international origin. Its popularity among national and international students increasingly shaped "Technikum town " Mittweida’s image. Contemporary witnesses report about the now daily "Techniker-Bummel" each afternoon along "Rochlitzer Straße": "There were Norwegians, walking like on deck of a ship; there were extremely tall, silvery-blonde Swedes; small, smiling Chinese; … there were many students from Russia; from Brazil, Chile and Uruguay - all with a thirst for knowledge … That really was a world, it was almost the world!" ["Mittweidas Ingenieure in aller Welt", Hg. Hochschule Mittweida, supplemented reprint 2014, p. 8]
Opening of the "1865"
On this shortcut Techniker-Bummel, café “1865” provided the first opportunity to get inside and dry off: Located at the corner of "Rochlitzer Straße" and "Poststraße", the anniversary café was officially opened by rector Ludwig Hilmer. All participants of the "Techniker-Bummel" received a commemorative anniversary medal. The café’s location played a role in the "Technikum"’s early history, e.g. having previously housed the café “Black & White”. Over the two-year anniversary period, up until May 2017, the "1865" is going to create a nostalgic atmosphere with contemporary exhibits where students and locals can get together. It is open daily from 7 p.m.