The Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, founded in 1743, is one of Germany's larger research universities and the institution that defines the character of the city. Its faculties of medicine, physics, and engineering have generated significant research — it was here that Georg Ohm worked out the relationship between voltage, current, and resistance that now bears his name.
The university campus is spread throughout the Altstadt rather than concentrated in a single compound. The Schloss serves as the administrative headquarters, and university buildings appear on most streets in the historic centre. During term time, the city is full of students, which gives it a life and energy that most Bavarian cities of similar size don't have.