Professor Norbert Heisig’s 90th birthday – report from the celebration
Text: dr Helmut Schöps
Photos: prof. Ludwik Turko
The founding father and honorary member of the German-Polish Society of the University of Wrocław (NPTUWr), professor Norbert Heisig, turned 90 on 24 November 2023. This anniversary was solemnly celebrated on 2 December at the Jubilee’s home in Reinbek near Hamburg.
Rector of the University of Wrocław prof. Robert Olkiewicz together with three former rectors of the Wrocław Alma Mater, prof. Marek Bojarski, prof. Zdzisław Latajka and prof. Adam Jezierski, and active activists of NPTUWr, prof. Ludwik Turka and prof. Krzysztof Wronecki, came from Wrocław, representing Polish members of the Society. In Reinbek they met with colleagues from Germany. During the meeting at the Jubilee’s home, the history of the Society founded by Professor Heisig in 2001 was reviewed in speeches from Rector Olkiewicz, through the chairman of NPTUWr, prof. Helmut Schöps, and the Jubilee himself. The dates quoted show that the Society will soon have a quarter of its life century.
During the speeches, special emphasis was placed on descriptions of individual projects financed on the initiative of professor Heisig, including the reconstruction of the Eichendorff monument in the Botanical Garden of the University of Wrocław, the renovation of ceiling frescoes in the Oratorium Marianum, as well as the founding of the Heisig Prize in 2021. This award is granted individually for outstanding scientific achievements to a researcher working at a Polish university. The Heisig Prize, as the highest prize for scientific and research achievements, is called the “Polish Nobel Prize” in the Polish media. The birthday celebrations once again highlighted how, initially a private initiative, created, and now cultivates and develops, bonds of mutual recognition and friendship between Poles and Germans. The German-Polish Society of the University of Wrocław has become an integral part of the international relations network of the University of Wrocław. The participants of the birthday meeting also confirmed their determination not only to continue this activity, but also, thanks to their commitment, to further develop new initiatives. In particular, the promotion of young scientists and the development of relations between the University of Wrocław and partners from Germany are and will be the areas of greatest activity of NPTUWr members. The annual meeting of the Society will be held, as usual, at the University of Wrocław in May 2024.
