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The Evangelisches Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster, located in suburban
Schmargendorf Schmargendorf () is a south-western locality (''Ortsteil'') of Berlin in the district (''Bezirk'') of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Until 2001 it was part of the former district of Wilmersdorf. Geography Schmargendorf borders with the localities ...
,
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...
, is an
independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British En ...
with a
humanistic Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "human ...
profile, known as one of the most prestigious schools in Germany. Founded by the
Evangelical Church Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "born again", in which an individual experi ...
in
West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...
in 1949 as the Evangelisches Gymnasium, it continues the traditions of the ancient Berlinisches Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster, the oldest Gymnasium in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...
, which for hundreds of years was situated in former monastery buildings in the city's
Mitte Mitte () is the first and most central borough of Berlin. The borough consists of six sub-entities: Mitte proper, Gesundbrunnen, Hansaviertel, Moabit, Tiergarten and Wedding. It is one of the two boroughs (the other being Friedrichshain-Kre ...
district, closed by the East Germans in 1958. In 1963 the Evangelisches Gymnasium of West Berlin adopted its traditions and added "zum Grauen Kloster" to its name.


Curriculum

The Evangelisches Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster is one of the last schools in Berlin offering the entire range of classical education with
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
and
Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...
as compulsory subjects. The students learn foreign languages in this order:
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...
(year 5),
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
(year 5),
Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...
(year 8),
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
(year 9 optional). Additionally, it is possible to learn
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
.


Extracurricular activities

The
debating Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred in public meetings, a ...
society deserves particular mention as members of the society have won several ''Jugend debattiert'' student competitions over the last years. Rowing and Hockey are popular activities as well.


History

The original school was established on 13 July 1574 by Elector John George of Hohenzollern as the first Protestant
Latin school The Latin school was the grammar school of 14th- to 19th-century Europe, though the latter term was much more common in England. Emphasis was placed, as the name indicates, on learning to use Latin. The education given at Latin schools gave gre ...
in
Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 squ ...
at the site of a medieval
Greyfriars Greyfriars, Grayfriars or Gray Friars is a term for Franciscan Order of Friars Minor, in particular, the Conventual Franciscans. The term often refers to buildings or districts formerly associated with the order. Former Friaries * Greyfriars, Bed ...
monastery (''Graues Kloster''), that had been secularised in 1539 in the course of the
Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
. The premises were centered around the Gothic abbey church dating from the 13th century, whose ruins are still being visible near
Alexanderplatz () ( en, Alexander Square) is a large public square and transport hub in the central Mitte district of Berlin. The square is named after the Russian Tsar Alexander I, which also denotes the larger neighbourhood stretching from in the no ...
. After the ancient school's buildings had been destroyed by Allied air raids in 1945, the original school moved several times. After the political division of Berlin in 1949, the ''Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster'' found itself in
East Berlin East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as West Berlin. From 13 August 1961 u ...
and the
Evangelical Church Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "born again", in which an individual experi ...
established the present school in
West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...
as the ''Evangelisches Gymnasium''. This found a new home in Schmargendorf in 1954. In 1958 the ''Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster'' was officially abolished by the
Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...
authorities, and in 1963 the ''Evangelisches Gymnasium'' adopted its traditions and name. The remnants of the original school's library, including donations by
Sigismund Streit Sigismund Streit (13 April 1687 – in Berlin; 20 December 1775 in Padua) was a prominent German merchant and art patron of the 18th century in Venice. Life Born in Berlin, he came to Venice in 1709, where he accumulated substantial weal ...
and Christoph Friedrich Nicolai, are now kept at the
Zentral- und Landesbibliothek Berlin The Berlin Central and Regional Library (german: Zentral- und Landesbibliothek Berlin) or ZLB is the official library of the City and State of Berlin, Germany. It was established as a Foundation by two State laws, initially in 1995 and amended in ...
.


Notable alumni and staff of the Berlinisches Gymnasium

;Alumni *
Johann Crüger Johann Crüger (9 April 1598 – 23 February 1662) was a German composer of well-known hymns. He was also the editor of the most widely used Lutheran hymnal of the 17th century, '' Praxis pietatis melica''. Early life and education Crüger was b ...
(1598–1662), composer *
Johann Gottfried Schadow Johann Gottfried Schadow (20 May 1764 – 27 January 1850) was a German Prussian sculptor. His most iconic work is the chariot on top of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, executed in 1793 when he was still only 29. Biography Schadow was born in ...
, (1764–1850), architect *
Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher Friedrich may refer to: Names *Friedrich (surname), people with the surname ''Friedrich'' *Friedrich (given name), people with the given name ''Friedrich'' Other *Friedrich (board game), a board game about Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' ...
, (1768–1834), theologian and philosopher *
Karl Friedrich Schinkel Karl Friedrich Schinkel (13 March 1781 – 9 October 1841) was a Prussian architect, city planner and painter who also designed furniture and stage sets. Schinkel was one of the most prominent architects of Germany and designed both neoclassic ...
, (1781–1841), architect *
Friedrich Ludwig Jahn (11August 177815October 1852) was a German gymnastics educator and nationalist whose writing is credited with the founding of the German gymnastics ( Turner) movement as well as influencing the German Campaign of 1813, during which a coalition o ...
(1778–1852), "father of gymnastics" * Carl Ludwig Christian Rümker (1788–1862), astronomer *
Johann Gustav Droysen Johann Gustav Bernhard Droysen (; ; 6 July 180819 June 1884) was a German historian. His history of Alexander the Great was the first work representing a new school of German historical thought that idealized power held by so-called "great" men. ...
(1808–1884), German historian * Carl Mayet (1810–1868) chess master * Hermann Lebert (1813–1878), German physician, pathologist *
Hermann Bonitz Hermann Bonitz (29 July 181425 July 1888), German scholar, was born at Langensalza in Prussian Saxony. Having studied at the University of Leipzig under Johann Gottfried Jakob Hermann, G. Hermann and at University of Berlin, Berlin under Philipp ...
(1814–1888), German scholar * Johann Georg Halske (1814–1890), mechanic and entrepreneur ( Siemens & Halske) * Heinrich Ernst Beyrich (1815–1896), geologist *
Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of ...
(1815–1898), German statesman * Wilhelm Stieber (1818–1882), secret agent *
Emil Rathenau Emil Moritz Rathenau (11 December 1838 – 20 June 1915) was a German entrepreneur, industrialist, mechanical engineer. He was a leading figure in the early European electrical industry. Early life Rathenau was born in Berlin, into a ...
(1838–1915), entrepreneur *
Franz Hilgendorf Franz Martin Hilgendorf (5 December 1839 – 5 July 1904) was a German zoologist and paleontologist. Hilgendorf's research on fossil snails from the Steinheim crater in the early 1860s became a palaeontological evidence for the theory of ev ...
(1839–1904), zoologist * Paul Langerhans (1847–1888), pathologist * Henri James Simon (1851–1932), entrepreneur * Theodor Simon Flatau (1860–1937), physician * Paul Hirsch (1868–1940), politician *
Eduard Spranger Eduard Spranger (27 June 1882 – 17 September 1963) was a German philosopher and psychologist. A student of Wilhelm Dilthey, Spranger was born in Berlin and died in Tübingen. He was considered a humanist who developed a philosophical ...
(1882–1963), philosopher *
Carlheinz Neumann Carlheinz Neumann (27 November 1905 – 19 May 1983) was a German rower who competed in the 1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international m ...
(1905–1983), rower * Franz/ François Willi Wendt (1909–1970), painter * Edward Ullendorff (born 1920), German-British academic *
Hans Georg Dehmelt Hans Georg Dehmelt (; 9 September 1922 – 7 March 2017) was a German and American physicist, who was awarded a Nobel Prize in Physics in 1989, for co-developing the ion trap technique (Penning trap) with Wolfgang Paul, for which they shared one-h ...
(born 1922), physicist (
Nobel Prize in Physics ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then " ...
1989) *
Hermann Prey Hermann Prey ( Berlin, 11 July 1929 – Krailling, 22 July 1998) was a German lyric baritone, who was equally at home in the Lied, operatic and concert repertoires. His American debut was in November 1952, with the Philadelphia Orchestra an ...
(1929–1998), baritone *
Lothar de Maizière Lothar de Maizière (; born 2 March 1940) is a German Christian Democratic politician. In 1990, he served as the only premier of the German Democratic Republic to be democratically elected freely and fairly by the people. He was also the last l ...
(born 1940), politician * Anna Mila Guyenz (born 1995), fashion model ;Staff *
Samuel Rodigast Samuel Rodigast (19 October 1649 – 19 March 1708) was a German teacher and hymnwriter. He is remembered as the author of the hymn "Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan". Life Rodigast was born in Gröben near Jena. After attending the Gymnasium in ...
, (1649–1708), poet * Johann Joachim Bellermann (1754–1842), Hebraist *
Karl Philipp Moritz Karl Philipp Moritz (Hameln, 15 September 1756 – Berlin, 26 June 1793) was a German author, editor and essayist of the '' Sturm und Drang'', late Enlightenment, and classicist periods, influencing early German Romanticism as well. He led a ...
(1757–1793), author *
Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher Friedrich may refer to: Names *Friedrich (surname), people with the surname ''Friedrich'' *Friedrich (given name), people with the given name ''Friedrich'' Other *Friedrich (board game), a board game about Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' ...
(1768–1834), theologian *
Johann Gustav Droysen Johann Gustav Bernhard Droysen (; ; 6 July 180819 June 1884) was a German historian. His history of Alexander the Great was the first work representing a new school of German historical thought that idealized power held by so-called "great" men. ...
(1808–1884), historian *
Heinrich Bellermann Johann Gottfried Heinrich Bellermann (10 March 1832 – 10 April 1903) was a German music theorist. He was the author of ''Der Contrapunkt'' ("Counterpoint"), 1862, (Berlin, Verlag von Julius Springer—2nd ed., 1877; 3rd ed., 1887; 4th ed., ...
(1832−1903), music theorist *
Anton Friedrich Büsching Anton Friedrich Büsching (27 September 172428 May 1793) was a German geographer, historian, educator and theologian. His ''Erdbeschreibung'' ("Earth description") was the first geographical work of any scientific merit. He also did significant wo ...
(1724–1793), geographer, headmaster from 1766


Notable alumni of the Evangelisches Gymnasium

* Bernhard Britting (born 1940), rower *
Thekla Carola Wied Thekla Carola Wied (born Thekla Wiedmann 5 February 1944) is a German actress educated in West Berlin at the Evangelisches Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster. Her father was a teacher for Latin. After abitur she studied from 1965 till 1967 acting at Fo ...
(born 1944), actress * Ulrich Matthes (born 1959), actor * Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (born 1973), director ( Oscar 2007)


See also

*
Canisius-Kolleg Berlin The Canisius-Kolleg Berlin (CK) is a private, Catholic and coeducational Gymnasium (German type of college-preparatory school) directed by the Society of Jesus in Berlin, Germany. The school is named after Saint Peter Canisius. It is known a ...
*
Education in Germany Education in Germany is primarily the responsibility of individual German states (), with the federal government playing a minor role. Optional Kindergarden (nursery school) education is provided for all children between one and six years o ...
*
Gymnasium (school) ''Gymnasium'' (and variations of the word) is a term in various European languages for a secondary school that prepares students for higher education at a university. It is comparable to the US English term '' preparatory high school''. Be ...


Bibliography

* Scholtz, H. (1998): ''Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster 1874–1974. Bewährungsproben einer Berliner Gymnasialtradition in ihrem vierten Jahrhundert''. Dt. Studien-Verl. . * Dietrich, M. (1997): ''Berlinische Kloster- und Schulhistorie''. Neudr. er Ausg.Berlin, Nicolai, 1732. Scherer. . * Eckstein, F.A. (2005): ''Nomenclator Philologorum''. 1871, Hamburg: korr. Ausgabe von Johannes Saltzwede
Digitalisat


References


External links


Graues Kloster Website

Sponsoring Society Graues Kloster Mitte
{{DEFAULTSORT:Evangelisches Gymnasium Zum Grauen Kloster 1949 establishments in West Germany Private schools in Germany Gymnasiums in Germany Educational institutions established in 1949 Schools in Berlin Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf