Humboldt's main building

The building might be called something like "old Main" on a US campus. Here it is called the Hauptgebaude, which means simply "main building" with no imlication that it is old. Of course by German standards it is not. The structure was build between 1748 - 1766, and was originally a palace for Prince Heinrich of Prussia. The University itself was not founded until 1810 and claims (unabashedly and truthfully) to be the "mother of all modern universities." World War II bombing damaged the building so badly that it needed serious reconstruction, which means that its basic infrastructure dates from the 1950s.

A quote from Karl Marx is prominent on the grand main stair in gold letters. It says (and I paraphrase): Philosophers set out to describe the world -- we plan to change it. Interestingly enough the philosophy department is one of the few academic departments still in the main building. I had a meeting with them today about a grant project. They live on the second floor, which is a 3rd floor in the US and seems more like the height of a 6th floor when climbing the stairs.

Like many former palaces, the old building is a maze. Maps on the walls help, though I know people who were once students and are now faculty who claim that they can still get lost. I am beginning to know my way around parts of it, though. One of my regular lunch places is in the building, and I can find that quite reliably!