A hybrid ceremony marking 40 years of cooperation with a digital present covering 400 years of shared history: On 29 October 2020, the President of the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Prof. Jouke de Vries, gave the gift of a virtual exhibition to the President of the University of Oldenburg, Prof. Hans Michael Piper.

"This malicious and tasteless slanderer brings shame on himself, not on me, because he exhibits his own folly and malice, even if it is completely powerless. His poem is poisonous but tasteless, foolish, childish and not yet worthy of a rhyme at school".

With these words begins the virtual exhibition accessible on the homepage of the University of Groningen. It immediately becomes clear: the relationship between the cities was not always as friendly as it is today. Rather, excerpts from historical writings, knowledgeably put into context, show that even many centuries ago, science and politics were occasionally on a collision course, and "alternative facts" were used to legitimise power.

You can learn more about this eventful common history here: Virtual Exhibition: 400 Years of Groningen and Oldenburg