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The Robert Koch Institute: one of the world’s oldest biomedical institutes
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First headquarters of the Royal Prussian Institute for Infectious Diseases in Schumannstraße in Berlin-Mitte, end of the 19th century.
Source: RKI
The Robert Koch Institute focuses its attention on public health and is one of the oldest institutions of its kind worldwide. Research is at the very core of its work, enabling it to classify health risks reliably and issue recommendations to improve population health. During the founding years from 1891 to 1904, the institute was headed by Robert Koch, a doctor and researcher who, as a result of his research into anthrax, first determined the connection between infectious agent and disease. He later discovered the tuberculosis pathogen for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1905.
| 1891 | On 1 July, the “Royal Prussian Institute for Infectious Diseases” takes up its work – in a converted residential building in Schumannstraße in Berlin-Mitte. Robert Koch heads the institute until 1904. |
| 1900 | Relocation to a new building on the Nordufer in Berlin-Wedding, which remains RKI headquarters to this day. |
| 1905 | Robert Koch is awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine. |
| 1906/07 | Robert Koch and colleagues investigate sleeping sickness in German East Africa. Their drug tests result in blindness in many patients, some even die. |
| 1910 | Robert Koch dies and is laid to rest in a mausoleum inside the institute. |
| 1912 | On the 30th anniversary of the discovery of the tuberculosis bacterium the institute is re-named “Royal Prussian Institute for Infectious Diseases, ‘Robert Koch’”. |
| 1933 | After the National Socialist takeover, Jewish scientists are forced to leave the institute. During the Third Reich, RKI is heavily involved in National Socialist strong-arm tactics. Leading scientists play a role, amongst others, in human experimentation in sanatoria and concentration camps. |
| 1942 | The institute becomes an independent Reich institute called the Robert Koch Institute. It now focuses on research into infectious diseases that threaten military striking power. |
| 1945 | Parts of the institute have been destroyed during the war. With the help of the Allies, work is resumed. |
| 1952 | RKI becomes part of the newly-founded Federal Health Office. The building on the Nordufer is extended, laboratories and stables are modernised. |
| 1960 | The institute starts producing the only yellow fever vaccine licensed by the WHO in Germany. Production continues until 2002. |
| 1978 | A new laboratory building is inaugurated on the Nordufer, one of the most modern in Europe at the time. |
| 1982 | When the first cases of AIDS occur in Germany RKI establishes an AIDS register. |
| 1990 | After German reunification, various GDR authorities are integrated into RKI, including part of the Central Institute for Hygiene, Microbiology and Epidemiology in Berlin-Schöneweide and the Institute for Experimental Epidemiology in Wernigerode in the Harz region. The Wernigerode site is still a branch of RKI. |
| 1994 | The Federal Health Office is dissolved. RKI merges with the AIDS Centre, which had been founded in 1988, and the Institute for Social Medicine and Epidemiology (SozEp) in Berlin-Tempelhof – the latter specialising in non-communicable diseases. |
| 1998 | RKI conducts its first comprehensive study on the state of health and health behaviour of adults in Germany. |
| 2001 | The Infection Protection Act (Infektionsschutzgesetz, IfSG) enters into force. The registering and control of infectious diseases are fundamentally modernised, RKI’s responsibilities are extended. |
| 2001 | RKI becomes the central point in Germany for recognising and addressing bioterrorist risk situations. |
| 2002 | The institute acquires an additional site in Berlin-Wedding: Seestrasse. |
| 2003 | RKI introduces the KiGGS Study: for the first time, comprehensive data on the health status of children and young people are collected nationwide. |
| 2006 | Jointly with the Federal Statistical Office, RKI is commissioned to conduct health reporting in Germany. |
| 2007 | RKI is officially charged with health monitoring. The institute thus continuously collects data on disease incidence and risk behaviour amongst all age groups of the population in Germany. |
| 2008 | The Bundestag decides to develop RKI into a modern public health institute (‘RKI 2010’). Staffing numbers are increased. |
| 2014 | In West Africa, 50 members of RKI’s staff help to contain the largest Ebola Virus Disease outbreak in history. |
| 2015 | A new office and laboratory building is inaugurated at the Seestrasse site, including a laboratory with the highest safety level (BSL4). |
| 2016 | The institute celebrates its 125th anniversary. Over 1,100 people with 90 different occupations are employed at the four sites in Berlin and Wernigerode, including 450 scientists. |
| 2017 | The strategy ‘RKI 2025’ envisages extending digital epidemiology, connecting public health stakeholders and taking on greater responsibility at international level. |
| 2019 | RKI gets its own international department – the Centre for International Health Protection (ZIG) |
| 2020 | During the COVID-19 pandemic, RKI provides extensive situation assessements and recommendations. |
| 2021 | A new department is set up – the Centre for Artificial Intelligence in Public Health Research. |
Date: 09.01.2023
