This presentation examines the teaching of applied mathematics at the University of Wittenberg during the eighteenth century, a period characterised by significant transformations in higher education and scientific culture. While the history of mathematics has often focused on theoretical developments, less attention has been paid to the institutional contexts in which mathematical knowledge was taught and adapted to practical purposes.

Drawing on lecture catalogues, disputations, university records, and contemporary textbooks, the study analyses the place of applied mathematics within Wittenberg’s curriculum between 1700 and 1800. Particular attention is given to subjects such as surveying, cartography, military engineering, mechanics, and astronomy, as well as to the relationship between pure and applied mathematics in academic instruction.

The presentation investigates how professors responded to growing demands for practically useful knowledge and how mathematical teaching reflected broader developments associated with the German Enlightenment. It argues that applied mathematics increasingly served as a bridge between traditional scholarly learning and emerging forms of technical, administrative, and professional expertise.

By situating Wittenberg within wider educational and intellectual networks, the study contributes to a deeper understanding of the role of universities in the transmission of practical knowledge and highlights the importance of mathematical instruction in processes of institutional and societal change during the eighteenth century.