University Haus Buhl to be Reopened as Venue for Events and Conferences

Press Release No. 51/2026
3 June 2026

“The reopening of Haus Buhl is a cause for great joy and gratitude – gratitude above all to our Honorary Senator Gerda Tschira and to the many people who, over the past years, have helped make it possible for us to celebrate today. This wonderful gift also places a great responsibility on us to fill the building with life – as a place of encounter and intensive exchange both within the university and with the public,” emphasizes the Rector of Heidelberg University, Prof. Dr. Frauke Melchior. 

Following the reconstruction and renovation, the main section of Haus Buhl, erected in the early 18th century, will contain a conference and meeting room with modern audiovisual technology for up to 180 attendees. The heart of the building complex remains, however, the bel étage on the second floor. Here is located the ceremonial Hall of Mirrors, which will serve as a place to meet and socialize, and which is surrounded by three smaller meeting rooms. The vaulted cellar is to be used, above all, for cultural events and different dialogue formats between academia and the public. 

The building is named after legal scholar Heinrich Buhl (1848 to 1907), who studied in Heidelberg, Göttingen, Würzburg and Berlin. After earning his doctorate and habilitation at Heidelberg University he taught as a full professor at Ruperto Carola from 1886. He left the present-day Haus Buhl to Heidelberg University in his will. After the First World War, the historical building in Heidelberg’s main street was temporarily used for an institute, later as a meeting point for students and residence for international students and visitors. 

Confiscated by the military government after the end of the Second World War, Haus Buhl again served as a guest-house and venue for receptions, concerts and theatrical performances from 1949 onward. 1973 saw the opening in the vaulted cellar of the Heidelberg Jazz Club, which was based there until 1990. An elaborate renovation of the premises took place between 1984 and 1986 to mark the 600th anniversary of Heidelberg University. From 2008, the Marsilius Kolleg, founded in the context of the Excellence Initiative, was accommodated in Haus Buhl until it moved to the Im Neuenheimer Feld Campus in 2016. 

Ruperto Carola owes the fact that a thorough renewal of the heritage building complex including its outside premises has now been possible to Honorary Senator Gerda Tschira, who provided the necessary funds from her non-profit company ODWIN gGmbH to the “Unterländer Studienfonds bei der Universität Heidelberg”, the foundation that owns Haus Buhl. As per its statutes, the foundation supports Heidelberg University in fulfilling its tasks and will provide the building rent-free.

The “Heidelberg Forum Democracy, Science and Society”, which has just been established by the university’s Rectorate, will also be based in Haus Buhl, giving the event and conference venue a new thematic focus. The forum is intended to become a nucleus shining a light on existing and future activities by the university to reinforce democracy, societal resilience and academic freedom, along with the ethical and social responsibility of academia. For forum events organized, including, in particular, conferences with international appeal, lectures or workshops with actors from all areas of public life, Haus Buhl offers ideal conditions for creating spaces for dialogue and encounter and for making an impact both within and beyond the university.

The first speaker at the reopening of Haus Buhl will be the Rector of Ruperto Carola. Greetings will follow from Jochen Ridinger, head of the Division for Foundations and Assets at Heidelberg University, and Harald Schwarz, the architect responsible for the refurbishing. Finally, honorary senator Gerda Tschira and Marietta Fuhrmann-Koch, managing director of Haus Buhl, will address the guests. The musical setting is provided by Capella Carolina, conducted by Prof. Franz Wassermann, and Prof. Dr Andreas Kruse at the grand piano.

This event is not open to the public.