The initial developmental stages of the Friedrich-Wilhelms University, founded in 1918 in the city of Bonn, are described. During the five year planning period the establishment of a veterinary faculty was discussed, but this was neglected in subsequent years although a course in veterinary medicine was included in the curriculum. A lecture devoted to animal treatment was announced in 1820 by the lecturer Krimer and the subject was offered from 1822 until the summer term of 1842 by Bischoff with special emphasis on contagious diseases. The unsteady life of Wenzel Krimer, who was an outstanding teacher at the University of Bonn from 1819 to 1822 when he moved to Aachen to become a successful physician and surgeon, but dying at the age of 39, is described. Krimer was a pioneer of experimental physiology and a teacher of Johannes Muller who, in turn, guided medical research from the ideas of natural philosophy and animal magnetism to more exact sciences. The surviving documentary evidence indicates that veterinary medicine was not Krimer's main interest except for experimental physiology; his publications were not concerned with veterinary matters. Krimer was not only an outstanding scientist, but also a literary writer. His autobiography, >>Memories of the Lutzow's old hunter<<, remains readable. Veterinary medicine is still not established as a discipline at the University of Bonn although a further attempt was made in 1950.
