The "Akademische Vereinigung Rheinstein" is a catholic fraternity of students and graduates of the university of cologne. Our association was founded in 1925 and currently has around 400 members.

Friends for life

The basis of our community is the friendship between all members. This ensures that our friendships last - even if you have already graduated and long moved away from the city you've studied in. Unlike most clubs and cliques, we won't ever let you down. And we help each other: When searching for a room near the university, for example. Or when it comes to searching for internships and job contacts. Especially if a member gets in trouble. Critics like to call it nepotism. We rather tend to describe it as social networking.

In our fraternity can be found a colorful mix of all generations and disciplines. Regardless of age and status - all of our members are equal at eye level. That is because we believe that all of us can learn from each other. Much to the benefit of our student members: In the "microcosm fraternity" they learn to organize, to lead, and to defend their positions against a variety of counter- arguments - all valuable experience for future professional life.


Old braids cut off

Our fraternity is in the liberal tradition of the student movement of the 18th and 19 Century. That does not mean that we have taken over all traditions from this period. On the contrary: Many things are long gone and have changed. Thus, we reject, for example, the academic fencing that is part of other associations. After World War II, we continued to change and evolve our very own style of frat life. The evil of the Nazi dictatorship and the horrors of war gave to the surviving members of our fraternity a deep aversion to all forms of nationalism and militarism. So we decided to make international friendship between people a major topic. It was us, who -with the japanese Yu Shinoda in 1951- welcomed a foreigner as the first german fraternity to do so. Today an everyday business, it was a sensation back then. In 1963 we even succeeded in founding a fraternity at the Catholic Sophia University in Tokyo - the Academic Association "Edo Rhenania".


Look beyond

This progressive spirit characterizes our fraternity. Still keeping our student traditions, we always ensure to stay modern and open-minded. Rather than on beer consumption, we focus on academic discourse. Our ambitious program offers you the opportunity to look beyond and to deal with other religions, cultures and opinions. As christians, we commit to solidarity, tolerance and open- mindedness to the world.

The name of our fraternity relies to the castle Rheinstein. The historic castle is located near the Rhineland-Palatinate city of Bingen and was built at the beginning of the 14th Century. Today, as a part of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley, it belongs to the UNESCO world heritage. Our members meet there every year until today celebrating our anniversary whilst having a breathtaking sight over the Rhine valley.