Castle and "Extension" Building (EW)
The centerpiece of the University of Osnabrück is Osnabrück Castle (Schloss) on Neuer Graben (Buildings 11-14). Construction of the Castle, originally intended as a bishop's residence for Prince-Bishop Ernst August I and his wife Sophie von der Pfalz, began in 1669. Throughout the following centuries, Osnabrück Castle served various purposes. In 1953, the Adolf Reichwein College, which became a department of the Scientific Pedagogical University of Lower Saxony in 1969, moved into the former bishop's residence.
With the founding of the university, the Castle became its main building, initially housing mainly the university's management and administration, but also some of the departments. The main hall (Aula) was already used for larger events in the 1970s.
The adjacent EW Building (Building 15) was constructed for the Pedagogical University to cope with steadily increasing student numbers. It was constructed in 1973/74 and occupied when the university started operating in 1974. In the early days of the university, it housed departments such as teacher education, psychology, theology, as well as biology and chemistry, and the senate chamber. The first renovation of the building took place in 1989, and it has undergone significant visual changes since then.