360-degree campus tour: Innwiese lawn
This is the accessibility standards compliant alternative version of the virtual campus tour.
If you are not affected by a disability, we recommend you visit the original tour instead. The 360-degree tour is more immersive and includes the full high resolution images. Visit the University of Passau 360-degree campus tour.
The Innwiese meadow is a much beloved part of our campus. On any sunny day, it is filled with students. If it's warm, there are bound to be a few picnics or barbecues around the meadow. When the temperatures are more refreshing, watch out for the Quidditch team or even people playing cricket! Take a few steps away from the sometimes busy Innstrasse and enjoy the quiet by the riverbank.
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.
Campus tour information
The University of Passau
About 13,000 students from 100 countries have chosen to study at the University of Passau.
Owing to its excellent research output, an outstanding study environment and a tight-knit international network of partners, the University is a well known and highly respected institution.
Innsteg auditorium
Built in 1889 to serve as an officers’ riding hall and gymnasium for the local barracks, the Innsteg auditorium now serves the University as a venue for teaching, exams, and events.
A very international University
About 1,500 international students from 100 countries study in Passau. Our courses are designed with in-built international opportunities, none more so than our double-degree programmes.
As an institution, our network is underpinned by the global research partnerships of our academics.
Faculty of Humanities and Cultural Studies & Faculty of Social and Educational Sciences
Almost 6,000 students are enrolled in the 24 study programmes of the faculty, including the teacher education programmes.
Three factors influence our teaching and research: interdisciplinarity, internationality and interculturalism. Our academic perspectives are connected by a guiding principle, namely the mission of the arts, humanities and social sciences to reflect upon society and to shape academic discourse in a forward-looking way.
Students and all academic staff have the opportunity to visit one of our 160 partner universities in 49 countries.
Nikolakloster
When the State of Bavaria created a university in Passau, a section of this building was designated part of the new campus.
Today, the Faculty of Humanities and Cultural Studies & Faculty of Social and Educational Sciences are based in the Nikolakloster and Philosophicum buildings.
The eastern half of the Nikolakloster building is a convent to this day.