Founding charter of the Karlsruhe Polytechnical College by Grand Duke Ludwig I of Baden, October 7, 1825, 34.5 × 23.5 cm, paper. Generallandesarchiv Karlsruhe 235/4106, page 1 (sheet 1r).
On October 7, 1825, Grand Duke Ludwig I of Baden signed the founding charter of Karlsruhe Polytechnical College, thereby marking the beginnings of KIT. This act garnered significant external recognition. During the Holy Roman Empire, which dissolved in 1806, university foundations by territorial rulers had required imperial approval. In the post-empirical period, the Karlsruhe charter showcased the Grand Duke as a sovereign ruler not subject to any higher sanction. The text of the charter presents Ludwig I as a benevolent regent concerned about the welfare of his realm. It positions the Polytechnical College within the educational system as an institution separate from universities, in which scientific knowledge is practically applied. The areas of application in the private sector are distinguished from those in the public sector, since technically proficient civil servants were wanted as much as management personnel for industry. This new charter thus represented an innovative step in the development of the Grand Duchy of Baden. Gustav Friedrich Wucherer, a theologian and physicist from Freiburg, became its first director. kn