The setting up of the Laboratory for Experimental Psychology at the University of Leipzig in 1879 is often described, in the secondary literature, as the starting point for scientific psychology. However, such accounts are seldom followed by a careful explanation of the significance of the Laboratory 's foundation for the historical development of psychology. This essay will indicate some historical-cultural factors related to its foundation, and will emphasize the influence of Wilhelm Wundt on the training of a whole generation of young psychologists. In this way, it 's possible to comprehend that the importance of the Laboratory does not rest on the fact that it was the first of its kind, but that it became the first international training center for psychologists.