%0 Journal Article %T Classical and Quantum Gravity in 1+1 Dimensions, Part I: A Unifying Approach %A T. Kloesch %A T. Strobl %J Physics %D 1995 %I arXiv %R 10.1088/0264-9381/13/5/015 %X We provide a concise approach to generalized dilaton theories with and without torsion and coupling to Yang-Mills fields. Transformations on the space of fields are used to trivialize the field equations locally. In this way their solution becomes accessible within a few lines of calculation only. In this first of a series of papers we set the stage for a thorough global investigation of classical and quantum aspects of more or less all available 2D gravity-Yang-Mills models. %U http://arxiv.org/abs/gr-qc/9508020v4