The Academic Gymnasium Danzig (, ,

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

: ''Gymnasium Dantiscanum'') was a school founded in

Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. It was founded in 1558 by Johann Hoppe (1512–1565), who had previously worked at schools in Kulm and Elbing until Catholic

Prince-Bishop A prince-bishop is a bishop who is also the civil ruler of some secular principality and sovereignty, as opposed to '' Prince of the Church'' itself, a title associated with cardinals. Since 1951, the sole extant prince-bishop has been the ...

Stanislaus Hosius Stanislaus Hosius (; 5 May 1504 – 5 August 1579) was a Polish Roman Catholic cardinal. From 1551 he was the Prince-Bishop of the Bishopric of Warmia in Royal Prussia, and from 1558, he served as the papal legate to the Holy Roman Emperor's I ...

closed them. For most of its existence it had a character similar to that of a university.

History

It was in operation as educational gymnasium for

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

clergy until 1817. It was one of the most developed educational centers in the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

. It also was the site of Collegium Medicum-one of the first associations of doctors in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In the 16th century, as many cities in the Polish province of

Royal Prussia Royal Prussia (; or , ) or Polish PrussiaAnton Friedrich Büsching, Patrick Murdoch. ''A New System of Geography'', London 1762p. 588/ref> (Polish: ; German: ) became a province of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, which was annexed follow ...

became

, the population began to seek a Lutheran education. The

University of Königsberg The University of Königsberg () was the university of Königsberg in Duchy of Prussia, which was a fief of Poland. It was founded in 1544 as the world's second Protestant Reformation, Protestant academy (after the University of Marburg) by Duke A ...

in neighbouring

Ducal Prussia The Duchy of Prussia (, , ) or Ducal Prussia (; ) was a duchy in the region of Prussia established as a result of secularization of the Monastic Prussia, the territory that remained under the control of the State of the Teutonic Order until t ...

, founded in 1544, was not big enough to educate all the new Protestant clerics and administrators needed for the newly Lutheran state in addition to arrivals from other parts of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, so local Latin schools in the Commonwealth were upgraded. The future home of the Gymnasium would be the former

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

monastery turned into a school. In 1539, a ''Schola Dantiscana'' program was started by Andreas Aurifaber. In 1558 Johann Hoppe founded a secular gymnasium that would become the Academic Gymnasium Danzig. Achatius Curaeus (1531–1594), from the

University of Wittenberg Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (), also referred to as MLU, is a public research university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg. It is the largest and oldest university in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. MLU offers German and i ...

, was made the first rector, but due to the theological conflicts between

Gnesio-Lutherans Gnesio-Lutherans (from Greek γνήσιος nesios genuine, authentic) is a modern name for a theological party in the Lutheran churches, in opposition to the Philippists after the death of Martin Luther and before the Formula of Concord. In ...

and

Philippists The Philippists formed a party in early Lutheranism. Their opponents were called Gnesio-Lutherans. Before Luther's death ''Philippists'' was the designation usually applied in the latter half of the sixteenth century to the followers of Phi ...

, he soon left. In 1580, the school received the title Academic Gymnasium. Along with similar schools in

Elbląg Elbląg (; ; ) is a city in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland, located in the eastern edge of the Żuławy region with 127,390 inhabitants, as of December 2021. It is the capital of Elbląg County. Elbląg is one of the ol ...

and

Toruń Toruń is a city on the Vistula River in north-central Poland and a World Heritage Sites of Poland, UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its population was 196,935 as of December 2021. Previously, it was the capital of the Toruń Voivodeship (1975–199 ...

, the gymnasium transformed the province of Royal Prussia into a center of classical studies in the 16th century. The university ambitions of the Gymnasium can be proved by the fact that in 1580-1611 the following chairs were created: theology, philosophy, law and history, rhetoric, mathematics, medicine with anatomy, Greek, Hebrew and oriental languages. In 1589 a Polish language course was created. In 1817, after the

Partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partition (politics), partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the eli ...

, when Gdańsk became part of the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

, the municipal gymnasium was founded and named ''Städtisches Gymnasium Danzig'' (City High School of Danzig), in contrast to the earlier (royal) ''Königliches Gymnasium''. The Academic Gymnasium Danzig was in operation until March 1945, when Danzig fell to the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

. Subsequently, the city as

, became again part of Poland.

Notable people

Notable lecturers of the Academic Gymnasium include

Bartholomäus Keckermann Bartholomäus Keckermann (c. 1572 – 25 August (or July) 1609) was a German writer, Calvinist theologian and philosopher. He is known for his ''Analytic Method''. As a writer on rhetoric, he is compared to Gerhard Johann Vossius, and consider ...

Peter Crüger Peter Crüger or Peter Krüger (20 October 1580 – 6 June 1639) was a mathematician, astronomer, polymath, and teacher of Johannes Hevelius. Life Crüger was born in Königsberg, Duchy of Prussia, a fief of the Kingdom of Poland. In scientif ...

Krzysztof Celestyn Mrongovius Krzysztof Celestyn Mrongovius (; ) (July 19, 1764 – June 3, 1855) was a Protestant pastor, writer, philosopher, distinguished linguist, and translator. Mrongovius was a noted defender of the Polish language in Warmia and Mazury. Biograph ...

, ,

Abraham Calovius Abraham Calovius (also Abraham Calov or Abraham Kalau; 16 April 161225 February 1686) was a Lutheran theologian, and was one of the champions of Lutheran orthodoxy in the 17th century. Biography He was born in Mohrungen (Morąg), Ducal Prussi ...

Michael Christoph Hanow Michael Christoph Hanow (also Hanov, Hanovius) (12 December 1695, in Zamborst near Neustettin, Pomerania – 22 September 1773, in Danzig) was a German meteorologist, historian, professor of mathematics and since 1717 rector of the Academic G ...

(Hanovius), Gottfried Lengnich, , , . Among its students and alumni were

Johannes Hevelius Johannes Hevelius Some sources refer to Hevelius as Polish: * * * * * * * Some sources refer to Hevelius as German: * * * * *of the Royal Society * (in German also known as ''Hevel''; ; – 28 January 1687) was a councillor and mayor of Danz ...

Andreas Gryphius Andreas Gryphius (; 2 October 161616 July 1664) was a German poet and playwright. With his eloquent sonnets, which contains "The Suffering, Frailty of Life and the World", he is considered one of the most important Baroque poets of the Germanos ...

, Gottfried Lengnich,

Hugo Münsterberg Hugo Münsterberg (; ; June 1, 1863 – December 16, 1916) was a German-American psychologist. He was one of the pioneers in applied psychology, extending his research and theories to Industrial organization, industrial/organizational (I/O), legal ...

Daniel Gralath Daniel Gralath (30 May 1708 – 23 July 1767) was a physicist and a mayor of Danzig. Gralath was born and died in Danzig (Gdańsk) in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. He came from a well-to-do trade family. He studied law and philosophy ...

, ,

Christian Hoffmann von Hoffmannswaldau Christian Hoffmann von Hoffmannswaldau (baptised 25 December 1616 – 4 April 1679) was a German poet of the Baroque era. He was born and died in Breslau (Wrocław) in Silesia. During his education in Danzig (Gdańsk) and Leiden, he befrie ...

, , , . In June 2008, the National Museum in Gdańsk unveiled a memorial table dedicated to Academic Gymnasium to mark the 450th anniversary of its founding.

Rectors

Rectors of Akademic Gymnasium Danzig: First rector

Humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...

Achatius Curaeus, advisor Johann Hoppe *1580-1629 Jacob Fabritius *1602-1609

- co-rector with Fabritius *1631-1643 Johann Botsack *1643-1650

Abraham Calov Abraham Calovius (also Abraham Calov or Abraham Kalau; 16 April 161225 February 1686) was a Lutheran theologian, and was one of the champions of Lutheran orthodoxy in the 17th century. Biography He was born in Mohrungen (Morąg), Duchy of Pruss ...

*1651-1669 Johann Maukisch *1670-1682 Aegidius Strauch *1685-1715 Samuel Schelwig *1717-

(Hanovious) *1717-1730

Johann Georg Abicht Johann Georg Abicht (21 March 1672 – 5 June 1740) was a German Lutheran theologian, born at Königsee, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. After finishing his studies at the universities of Jena and Leipzig, Abicht became teacher of oriental languag ...

*1732-1752 Albert Menon Verpoorten *1753-1769 Ernst August Bertling *1770-1794 Wilhelm Paul Verpoorten *1799-1809 Daniel Gralath ? relative of

*1810-1811 Friedrich Theodor Rinck *1812-1813 Nicolaus Gottfried Eckermann *1814-1817 Christian Gottfried Ewerbeck

References

Literature

*L.Mokrzecki: Studium z dziejów nauczania historii. Rozwój dydaktyki przedmiotu w Gdańskim Gimnazjum Akademickim do schyłku XVII, Gdańsk 1973 * Sven Tode: Bildung und Wissenskultur der Geistlichkeit im Danzig der Frühen Neuzeit, in: Bildung und Konfession, hg. v. H.J. Selderhuis/ M. Wriedt, Siebeck Mohr Tübingen 2006, S. 61 ff. * Martin Brecht u.a. (Hg.): Geschichte des Pietismus, Bd. I., Göttingen 1993 * Siegfried Wollgast: Philosophie in Deutschland zwischen Reformation und Aufklärung 1550-1650, Akademie-Verlag Berlin 1993 * 425 Jahre Städtisches Gymnasium Danzig. 1558 - 1983. Gedenkschrift für die Ehemaligen und Freunde der Schule, hg. v. Bernhard Schulz, Gernsbach 1983 * Reinhard Golz, Wolfgang Mayrhofer: ''Luther and Melanchthon in the Educational Thought of Central and Eastern Europe'', 1998,
Luther and Melanchthon in the Educational Thought of Central and Eastern Europe

External links

*
Leopold von Winter
mi
Building at the Danzig Wintermarkt, 19th century
{{DEFAULTSORT:Danzig, Academic Gymnasium 1558 establishments in Poland History of Gdańsk Educational institutions established in the 1550s Defunct schools in Poland Organisations based in Gdańsk Education in Gdańsk Buildings and structures in Gdańsk