Schneckenhof

In the location's words:

About the magic of a very special courtyard

On a Monday, a Tuesday or a Wednesday, the Schneckenhof is just another courtyard. A castle courtyard that is getting a bit long in the tooth. But if this courtyard could tell stories, it would have a lot to tell. Most of the stories would be about Thursdays. Fog machines, bass, cocktails and a dancing crowd turn the courtyard into the legendary Schneckenhof. Many generations of students have been part of this crowd and they all have very special memories.

During the lecture period, the university's student councils take it in turns to host parties on Thursdays from 9 pm. Each student council takes its turn once a semester. The student council party teams set up, dismantle, design flyers and posters, come up with mottos and take care of advance sales.

• There are usually two pre-sale dates on which the student councils offer tickets for the Thursday. Advance sales always take place on the lawn in front of the canteen.
• Some student councils limit the number of tickets you can buy. Often, one person can buy a maximum of two tickets so that as many people as possible have a chance of getting a ticket. The queues are correspondingly long - sometimes several hundred meters long and snaking across the entire Mensa meadow into the Ehrenhof.
• The pre-sale sometimes provides a foretaste of the party and the theme with music and decorations.

The first Schneckenhof party was organized in 1971 - more than 50 years ago - by "the Norwegians". Until the end of the 1980s, Norwegian students made up the largest group of international students. There was smoked salmon, aquavit, goat's cheese and flatbrød. A relic from this time is the Norwegian party in the Schneckenhof, which still exists today.

There are small towers in each of the four corners of the Schneckenhof. There is a staircase in each tower. Viewed from above or below, they resemble the shape of a snail. Hence the name of the adjoining courtyard: Schneckenhof.