There are various student corporations in most university-towns around Germany. Each of those corporations has its own identity, or character ranging from ‘Corps’ to ‘Landsmannschaften’ (territorial association), ‘Sängerschaften’ (musical corporation-type) to ‘Burschenschaften’ (corporation-type with roots in German nationalism) and many more. The oldest student corporations, in their current form, were founded around 1780 for reasons no different to today’s: as Germany was divided into smaller territories during the Holy Roman Empire, students who came from the same region gathered in pubs, sang the same songs and had a few beers. Those who got along well together formed societies that eventually took up more new members and grew.
We are more that 145 years old. Different people supported and shaped the Corps in various ways during the course of time: members, regular guests and wives of members (also called ‘Corpsschwestern’ – Corps sisters). Yet – or rather due to that – our communal life is based on an array of traditional values. This timeless, universal concept creates strong bonds between generations and shapes our lives today.
A running joke amongst us: things become “tradition” after they have occurred more than two times! It’s fair to say, at this point, that this describes our notion of tradition quite precisely.
Whereas we live traditions, we still question them, change them, create new ones and let go of out-dated ideas. It is encouraging and very satisfying to see how things that one fights for are eventually adapted and carried on to the next generations. The other side of the coin is that you learn to tolerate other views and accept that the very same changes will be abolished again over time. The Corps, which our oldest living members experienced in the 50s, is not the same today; yet the core values have persisted throughout time. This is what makes our Corps Borussia so worthwhile and inviting even into old age.
Every one of us contributes to shaping the ‘Zeitgeist’ (the spirit of times) of our community. Our society has made it from 1870 till today with this mind-set and we hope that it will last for many more years. Some of our old values may be out-dated, but the core elements like: morals, manners, respect, tolerance and kindness, to name a few, are absolutely modern. Naturally, we don’t always agree with one another but through communication and discussion we reach majority decisions to satisfy all concerned.
Even the corporations under our umbrella-association, the Kösener Senioren-Convents-Verband (KSCV), vary significantly in character. Corporations of similar persuasions and perceptions are bound into so-called circles named after colours.
We belong to the Red Circle (Roter Kreis), which emphasises hospitability, friendship and tolerance. The six Corps of the Red Circle visit one other regularly, and meet officially once a year, in November, in one of the home-cities.
The Corps of the Red Circle are: Saxonia Jena, Vandalia Rostock, Saxonia Bonn, Hildeso-Guestphalia Göttingen, Marcomannia Breslau, and us. Other than that, we maintain good relations with other Corps around Germany.