1800
The University moves from Ingolstadt to Landshut, and takes up residence in the former Dominican monastery
During the 18th century, the possibility of transferring the University elsewhere had been repeatedly discussed, and on 17 May 1800, the Elector formally decreed its relocation to Landshut. The official reason given for the decision was the threat presented by the military situation at this point in the Napoleonic Wars. As well as having a university, Ingolstadt was a garrison town, and was now in danger of occupation by French troops. However, the reformers in the administration in Munich were also intent on enhancing the reputation of the University, which was now regarded as conservative, old-fashioned and allegedly still dominated by the Jesuit ethos.
The relocation to Landshut took nearly four years, and the University celebrated its official installation in its new home in 1802. On that occasion, the leadership of the University formally thanked Maximilian IV Joseph for ordering the move, and the institution was renamed Universitas Ludovico-Maximilianea in his honor and in memory of its founder Duke Ludwig IX. Lectures resumed in May 1800. The now LMU was initially domiciled in the Dominican Monastery in Landshut. After the secularization of ecclesiastical property in 1803, other buildings that had belonged to religious orders were also made available to the University, among them the Aula of the former Jesuit College.
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