“125 years of Friedensau. A chronicle” by Johannes Hartlapp
07. Jul. 2025 / Campus Living / Events / Science & Research
Who doesn't know the stories of Friedensau students and graduates that are told at alumni or class reunions. There is hearty laughter and the moment, the situation, is recreated. Names buzz around the room, such as ‘Rabbi’ or ‘Brother Licht-aus’. Sometimes it was the long hair and flared trousers of the deacon or preacher students that caused offence in the 1970s, sometimes the mini-skirts of the sisters. Today we smile about it and place the experiences in the ‘then’.
History organised into decades
These unwritten episodes also resonated when the Friedensau Chronicle was presented in the university library in mid-May to mark the 125th anniversary of Friedensau. It had now seen the light of day, escaped the author's pen, the hands of the designer, the printing press and the book bindery. Aesthetic, handy, ‘weighty’ inside and out – it weighs in at 1.4 kg. The chronicle is a comprehensive document of Friedensau's history, which divides events into decades and focusses on the first hundred years of the town's history – for a serious assessment, you need some distance in time! Portraits of people who have dedicated their strength and energy to the development of Friedensau and who did not necessarily belong to the management level round off the historical explanations.
Honoured with a book premiere
The book premiere on 14 May 2025 in the university library was attended by interested Friedensau residents. They learnt how the creative team – book designer Ulrike Weißgerber, photographer Matthias Knoch, print manager Birgit Landgraf and copy editor Andrea Cramer – structured the texts by author Johannes Hartlapp on the history of Friedensau and brought them into their final form. The afternoon was hosted by Annegret Hartlapp, who probed many a detail with specific questions and made the content and design connections transparent through dialogue.
280 pages, a photo essay and around 450 pictures, most of them historical
The book "125 Years of Friedensau. A Chronicle" has become an all-round beautiful book. It comprises 280 pages, shows around 450 colour and black-and-white pictures, most of which are historical, as well as a photo essay with 25 double-page colour photos.
The chronicle can be purchased during a visit to Friedensau in the Friedensau shop and at the service counter of the university library, Ahornstr. 3, 39291 Friedensau (44.90 euros) or ordered online for shipping (plus approx. 7 euros): shop.friedensau.de | ISBN 978-3-935480-99-4 | Format 28 cm x 21 cm | Telephone orders (Raul Cervantes): Library 0175 5 74 26 76 (Text: Andrea Cramer | all Photos: Daniel Offei).
