Landshut (1800 - 1826)
In 1800, the university was relocated to Landshut by Prince Elector Max IV Joseph of Bavaria (King Maximilian I after 1806) and since 1802 has borne the name Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in his and Ludwig the Wealthy’s honor. The move was prompted when the French threatened Ingolstadt. At the same time, the relocation was seized as an opportunity to renew the conservative, Jesuit-influenced teaching staff.
Although the university only remained in Landshut for about a quarter of a century, this period had a distinct character. Alongside the Bavarian state universities in Würzburg and Erlangen, LMU withstood the chaos of the Napoleonic Wars. Especially in Landshut, Minister Maximilian Count von Montgelas, an architect of the modern Bavarian state, launched reforms to create a new climate for the sciences and education in the emerging kingdom. A cornerstone of his policy transformed the university from a privileged corporation of scholars into a state-directed institute of higher learning, though in part only briefly. In 1825/26, the student body numbered nearly one thousand. Thus, Landshut was among the largest universities in Germany, after Leipzig, Göttingen, Halle, and Berlin.
