Inscriptions are omnipresent: They can be found on buildings and monuments, on paintings, gravestones or windows. They are part of our cultural heritage, and they are priceless resources for historical, theological or linguistic research.
Within the framework of a joint research project the inscription commissions of the German and Austrian academies of science have established a target to collect, comment and publish information about Latin and German inscriptions from the Middle Ages and the early Modern Age. Meanwhile the range of publications entitled "Die Deutschen Inschriften" ("German Inscriptions") comprises more than 60 volumes.
Compared with hand-written or printed testimonials handed down through the ages, inscriptions are distinguished by their authenticity and the greater degree public attention they draw. In order to understand them it is necessary to know the exact text as well as the place and the object where the inscription was affixed. All these aspects are the focus of the work of the Department for Inscriptions at the Historical Institute of the Ernst Moritz Arndt University in Greifswald. Inscriptions in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern from the time until 1650 are being researched here under the topic "Traditions, breaking traditions, revolutions – inscriptions of the late Middle Ages and the early Modern Age in their historical context". The stock of information being worked on here is remarkable: It includes the university insignia and panel paintings with depictions of professors as well as the furnishings of St. Nikola Ratskirche (town hall church) in Stralsund.
The Department for Inscriptions was established in 2002 by the Academy of Sciences in Göttingen and Greifswald University. In addition to the academy in Göttingen, in which North German scientists are organised, there are six more such academies of science in Germany. They have merged under the holding of the Union der Akademien der Wissentschaften (Union of Academies of Science). Together the members of this association support excellence in research, scientific exchange and the development of young talent. The union looks back on a more than century-old tradition.
Information about the academy project is available here:
Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald (Ernst Moritz Arndt University)
Historisches Institut
Inschriftenarbeitsstelle
Frau Dr. Christine Magin
Domstr. 9A
17487 Greifswald
Phone: 03834-863342
Fax: 03834-863342
E-Mail: cmagin@uni-greifswald.de
Internet: www.inschriften.uni-greifswald.de
Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen (Academy of Science)
Theaterstraße 7
37073 Göttingen
Phone: 0551-395362
Fax: 05 51-395365
E-Mail: udeppe@gwdg.de
Internet: www.adw-goettingen.gwdg.de