Institute

The Institute of Physics is part of the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, and its members are dedicated to research and teaching in many areas of modern physics. They are supported by an efficient administration and various service groups.

Students	approx. 700
Doctoral students	approx. 150
Professors	22
Coopted and Honorary Professors	5
Lecturers	20
Technical Staff	approx. 120
Administrative Staff	approx. 50
Third-party funding
Publications (peer reviewed)	approx. 250 / year
Study programs	Physik (B.Sc.) Physik (Polyvalenter 2-HF Bachelor) Physics (M.Sc.) Applied Physics (M.Sc.) Physik (M. Ed. / Hauptfach, Erweiterungsfach und dual)

(last updated 2025)

1891	Establishment of the Physical-Physiological Institute at Albertstrasse 17
1895	Appointment of Franz Himstedt to the Chair of Physics (1895-1923)
1898	Establishment of the natural sciences and mathematics section within the Faculty of Philosophy
1904	Establishment of a dedicated professorship for Theoretical Physics – first chairholder: Johann Georg Königsberger (1904-1936)
1910	Establishment of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
1913	Development of the molecular pump and mercury diffusion pump by Wolfgang Gaede (1913-1919)
1924	Gustav Mie (1924-1935) succeeds Himstedt and becomes director of the Institute of Physics
1944	Complete destruction of the Physical-Physiological Institute in Albertstrasse by the area bombing of Freiburg
1945	Reconstruction of the destroyed physics department under Wolfgang Gentner (1946-1958)
1946	The first lectures began in the summer semester of 1946 in the new building (today’s Physics west building).
1952	Completion of the large physics lecture hall
1959	Commissioning of the Van de Graaff electrostatic accelerator (the first of its kind in Europe).
1961	Completion of the new physics high-rise building at Hermann-Herder-Str. 3
1971	Establishment of the Faculty of Physics
2002	Establishment of the joint Faculty of Mathematics and Physics
2006	Final research with the accelerator and its eventual decommissioning and dismantling. The former accelerator tower now houses the astroparticle physics research group.
2012	Discovery of the Higgs boson at the CERN hadron accelerator in Geneva with significant participation from Freiburg particle physics.

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