Book excerpt: At the International Winter School on "Electronic Properties of Polymers and Related Compounds" particular attention was paid to a very new and special field in polymer research. It is concerned with the study of the electronic structure of polymers and with physical and chemical properties directly re lated to this structure. In particular, tutorial and research contributions on electrical, electrochemical, optical, magnetic, lattice dynamical and structural properties were presented. In addition, review reports on related topics such as charge transfer complexes and linear-chain compounds (transi tion-metal trichalcogenides) were included. In two discussion meEjtings, the special role of polyacetylene and possible present and future applications of the electronic properties of polymers, as e.g. conductors or as electrodes in electrochemical cells, were elucidated. The electronic properties of polymers cover a wide range of research problems which are of particular interest for polymers with a 1T-electron system. Thus, a great part of the work presented was concerned with conjuga ted systems. Additional presentations dealt with other systems such as bio polymers, photopolymers or electrets, which are of significant scientific and technical importance. It was demonstrated how their electronic proper ties are increasingly being investigated from a fundamental point of view by applying known concepts of snlid-state science.