course of the Protestant Reformation, which the Duchy of W�rttemberg followed. In 1300, a Latin school (today's Uhland-Gymnasium) was founded.
In 1342, the county palatine was sold to Ulrich III, Count of W�rttemberg and incorporated into the County of W�rttemberg and has since been part of the Duchy of W�rttemberg (1495�1806), the Kingdom of W�rttemberg (1806�1918), the Free People's State of W�rttemberg (1918�1945) and Baden-W�rttemberg (since 1952).
Between 1470 and 1483, St. George's Collegiate Church was built. The collegiate church offices provided the opportunity for what soon afterwards became the most significant event in T�bingen's history: the founding of the Eberhard Karls University by Duke Eberhard im Bart of W�rttemberg in 1477, thus making it one of the oldest universities in Central Europe. It became soon renowned as one of the most influential places of learning in the Holy Roman Empire, especially for theology (a Protestant faculty, T�binger Stift, was established in 1535 in the former Augustinian monastery). Today, the university is still the biggest source of income for the residents of the city, and as one of the biggest universities in Germany with more than 22,000 students. It is by far the most important institution in the city, with students making up the majority of the city's population.
Between 1622 and 1625, the Catholic League occupied Lutheran W�rttemberg in the course of the Thirty Years' War. In the summer of 1631, the city was raided. In 1635/36 the city was hit by the Plague. In 1638, Swedish troops conquered T�bingen. Towards the end of the war, French troops occupied the city from 1647 until 1649.
In 1789, parts of the old town burned down, but were later rebuilt in the original style. In 1798 the Allgemeine Zeitung, a leading newspaper in early 19th century Germany, was founded in T�bingen by Johann Friedrich Cotta. From 1807 until 1843, the poet Friedrich H�lderlin lived in T�bingen in a tower
