History of TH Wildau
Where formerly locomotives were built in vast production halls, today people study, teach and research
Unique industrial site
More than 125 years of industrial history have given the university town of Wildau its special, distinctive character. From 1898 onwards, the Berliner Maschinenbau AG – formerly Schwartzkopff – started to build one of Europe’s biggest and most modern locomotive works here. This also marked the birth of today’s university town.
A rich tradition of training engineers
When the Technical College for Locomotive and Rolling Stock Construction was founded in 1949, the systematic training of engineers began in Wildau. It was out of this college that the Wildau School of Mechanical Engineering (ISW) emerged in 1964, the immediate predecessor of the present-day TH Wildau. It quickly established a good reputation for training mechanical engineering students. Its distinctive features were programmes that communicated a wide range of basic knowledge and practically applicable skills, well-equipped laboratories, and direct, on-site links to industrial operations.
Foundation of the Wildau Technical College
The Wildau Technical College was founded in 1991. Study activities began with just 17 students on the mechanical engineering degree programme. Today, with around 3,600 students (as at December 2017), the University is the largest university of applied sciences in the state of Brandenburg. In September 2009, it was renamed the Technical University of Applied Sciences Wildau.
Practical, application-oriented learning
Besides traditional education in engineering, today’s study provision includes the natural science, business, managerial and legal disciplines. Practical relevance is still a special characteristic of the TH Wildau. Co-operation networks link the University with major, internationally active corporations and enterprises in the region.
Over the centuries
1375
First documented mention of the village of ‘Alta Lomen’ (‘Higher Lomen’) in the land register of Emperor Charles IV. The name goes back to the old Slavic settlement of ‘Lomen’ in the Schillsberg area on the west bank of the Dahme.
1897
The Berliner Maschinenbau public company, formerly Louis Schwartzkopff (B.M.A.G), buys a 600,000 m² plot of land on the Berlin-Görlitz railway line with the Estate of Wildau, in order to build a new locomotive factory there. Construction begins in 1898.
1922
The municipality of Hoherlehme changes its name to ‘Municipality of Wildau’.
1949
Foundation of the Wildau Technical College for Locomotive and Rolling Stock Construction, marking the beginning of systematic engineer training on the site.
1955
The Technical College is renamed the ‘School of Heavy Mechanical Engineering’ (ISW).
22 October 1991
Following a decision by the government of the state of Brandenburg, the Wildau Technical College is founded. Learning activities begin with 17 students on the mechanical engineering degree programme.
11 May 2009
On the basis of the Brandenburg University Act, the Senate decides to change the name of the Technical College to the ‘Technical University of Applied Sciences Wildau’.
27 March 2013
Following a decision by the government of the state of Brandenburg, Wildau is officially designated a ‘city’.