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The Melanchthon House Bretten has been home to a European Melanchthon Academy since 2004. It was founded by representatives of universities and ecumenical institutes, the state parliament of Baden-Württemberg and the town of Bretten in conjunction with the "Year of Dialogue among Civilisations" proclaimed by the United Nations in 2004. The Academy's mission was therefore also emphasised as research into Philipp Melanchthon's intellectual legacy for science and culture in today's Europe.
The European Melanchthon Academy is the place for academic research with scholarship programmes and symposia with international participation. Exhibitions and educational museum concepts in the field of multimedia are developed as educational programmes for a broader public.
- Key points of the science programme
Historical-critical research into the work of the humanist and universal scholar Philipp Melanchthon goes far beyond the field of Reformation and religious history. It also encompasses topics of early modern research, politics, ethics and the history of education, as well as interconfessional and interreligious dialogue.
Previous research has shown that an appropriate appreciation of Philipp Melanchthon is only possible from a broader perspective, even geographically. His work as a humanist and reformer, as well as an innovator of education and religion can only be understood against a pan-European background, as can his significance as a mediator theologian with interdenominational concerns.
Together with other humanists of the 16th century, he also developed early ideas for a common "House of Europe" in his extensive correspondence and contributed to the replacement of the medieval idea of an "orbis christianus".
These ideas continue to influence the cultural self-image of the peoples of Europe to this day and at the same time demonstrate the long-term political significance of 16th century European humanism.