Universities are European institutions par excellence. While people are generally aware that universities have a long history, there is far less consciousness of the value of university heritage: the accumulated experience of universities as well as their material culture which have been transmitted from one generation to the next, and the role this heritage plays today. The authors explore university heritage in all its material and intellectual variety, and how it has been transmitted in the countries of Europe and at different periods. The aim of this publication is to raise awareness of the key role of universities in the cultural heritage of Europe as well as to encourage them to co-operate at European level to define a common approach to their problems and weaknesses with regard to their heritage. The authors, representing some fifteen institutions, work both on the heritage of universities from an academic perspective and in the areas of management and preservation of university heritage.