RWTH Aachen University

Founded 1870. Germany's largest technical university, Europe's automotive engineering brain trust.

Overview

Founded as a polytechnic in Aachen after the Franco-Prussian war began, RWTH grew into Germany's biggest technical university with about 47,000 students. Its automotive and production engineering institutes partner with the whole German car industry, clustered an hour's drive away. The medical faculty runs one of Europe's largest hospital complexes. Nobel laureate Philipp Lenard taught physics here in early years. The Karman Hall wind tunnels test everything from trains to cyclists. Aachen's cathedral, first German UNESCO site, neighbors the campus core.