360-degree campus tour: Innwiese lawn

To the North, the Nikolakloster building towers over the meadow. The left part of the building belongs to the University, the right is part of a convent.

In the meadow, a prominent University sign forms a popular backdrop for graduation selfies (or campus visit selfies!)

To the East, the Innsteg Auditorium with its redbrick construction lends an old-fashioned and traditional atmosphere to this part of the campus. 

Turn South, and a slight dip at the end of the meadow hides the cycle path that starts in Passau's Old Town and follows the bank of the river Inn for many miles. You know it's there because of the trees that line it, and because of the people walking, cycling or skating past. The river Inn itself is visible behind the trees. Don't let its silence fool you; the Inn is a mighty river, more than doubling the flow of the Danube at their confluence. In spring time, the Inn has a tendency to rise above its banks and flood the footpaths. Sometimes, it floods more than the riverside promenade, which is why some of our campus buildings are built on stilts!

To the West, the Philosophicum building looks a little like a red ship with its round porthole windows. The "Bohemian red" colour scheme recalls regional construction heritage. This building was the first new construction commissioned for the University when it was founded.

The Philosophicum is connected to the Nikolakloster by a skyway known as "Durchlauferhitzer". Translators might tell you the word means "water heater", but it's really a play on words: the compound noun transliterates as "pass-through-heater" or "walkthrough-heater". The phrase was colloquial for a long time, but as it became such a fixed part of campus lingo, the University now recognises it as the official term for that skyway.