The Gymnasium Theodorianum is a

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

situated in the historic centre of

Paderborn Paderborn (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn (district), Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pade ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Succeeding in the tradition of the cathedral school founded in 799, it is among the ten oldest schools in the world. It continues in the ideals of Renaissance humanism, with

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 ...

taught as the primary foreign language and

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

offered as an additional subject. The school has produced several leading German political, scientific, religious and military figures. It is known locally simply as the “Theo”.

History

Medieval Cathedral School

The exact founding year cannot be established definitively. It is however directly linked to the construction of the

Paderborn Cathedral Paderborn Cathedral () is the cathedral of the Catholic Archdiocese of Paderborn. It is located in the city centre of Paderborn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The cathedral is dedicated to Mary (mother of Jesus), Saint Mary, Saint Kilian and ...

in 777, along with a monastery in 780. On the occasion of

Pope Leo III Pope Leo III (; died 12 June 816) was bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 26 December 795 to his death on 12 June 816. Protected by Charlemagne from the supporters of his predecessor, Adrian I, Leo subsequently strengthened Charlem ...

’s visit to Paderborn in 799,

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

made a donation to the monastery, which likely included the cathedral school. This date is therefore widely considered the original founding date. The location of the school changed a number of times over subsequent years, within the immediate vicinity of the cathedral. Altmann, Bishop of Passau (1015-1091) is the first documented headmaster of the school. Further early headmasters included Reinher of Paderborn (1140-1190), who found a better method for calculating the

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

date, and crusader

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

Thomas Olivier (1170-1227).

Gymnasium Salentinianum and Growth under the Prince-Bishops

Following a period of decline during the 14th century, in competition with the appearance of universities, the school experienced a renewal under the rule of Bishop Salentin of Isenburg and headmaster Hermann von Kerssenbroch in the 1500s. The influence of renaissance humanism from this period is still a distinctive presence in the school ethos and

curriculum In education, a curriculum (; : curriculums or curricula ) is the totality of student experiences that occur in an educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view of the student's experi ...

. The school became

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 ...

soon thereafter, like most of the citizenry of Paderborn, until the efforts of the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

gradually led to a return of the school to Catholicism, marking the beginning of the

Counter Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...

in the region. Under the

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 ...

of Paderborn, Theodor von Fürstenberg, the forceful submission of Lutheranism in Paderborn was complete by 1604. During this time the school also gradually moved to its current location, away from the immediate vicinity of the cathedral, with the current school buildings completed in 1612 and the church completed in 1692. The church, with a significant baroque altar, is used for school services to this day. The name Theodorianum also stems from this time. Following the devastation of the

Thirty Years War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine, or disease, whil ...

the school and wider region experienced a period of baroque bloom, at times numbered among the largest schools in Westphalia with up to 1000 pupils. A notable alumnus from this time is the important baroque architect and general Johann Conrad Schlaun, responsible for such buildings as Schloss Münster and the Erbdrostenhof.

New Humanism under Prussian Rule

The annexation of the region by Prussia in 1802 resulted in the development of the school along the lines of German new humanism. Protestant and Jewish pupils were now admitted and the curriculum modernised according to the

Humboldtian model of higher education The Humboldtian model of higher education (German: ''Humboldtsches Bildungsideal'') or just Humboldt's ideal is a concept of higher education, academic education that emerged in the early 19th century whose core idea is a Holism, holistic combina ...

under Friedrich Kohlrausch. In 1874 the school was officially secularised, ending its overt association with the Catholic Church, with its last clerical headmaster leaving in 1884. A rapid growth in student numbers at this time necessitated the expansion of the school buildings, completed in 1893. From 1847 to 1979 a

minor seminary A minor seminary or high school seminary is a secondary day or boarding school created for the specific purpose of enrolling teenage boys who have expressed interest in becoming Priesthood (Catholic Church), Catholic priests. They are generally ...

was established by the

Archdiocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

in the nearby Liborianum for boys considering the priesthood. The majority of their education was provided by the Theodorianum. Notable pupils from this period were the German Chancellor

Wilhelm Cuno Wilhelm Carl Josef Cuno (2 July 1876 – 3 January 1933) was a German businessman and politician who was the chancellor of Germany from 1922 to 1923 for a total of 264 days. His tenure included the beginning of the occupation of the Ruhr by ...

, the “father of modern

analysis Analysis (: analyses) is the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts in order to gain a better understanding of it. The technique has been applied in the study of mathematics and logic since before Aristotle (38 ...

”

Karl Weierstrass Karl Theodor Wilhelm Weierstrass (; ; 31 October 1815 – 19 February 1897) was a German mathematician often cited as the " father of modern analysis". Despite leaving university without a degree, he studied mathematics and trained as a school t ...

, the anatomist Heinrich Wilhelm Waldeyer, the composer Engelbert Humperdinck, and the resistance fighter Paul Lejeune-Jung.

The school today

Between January and March 1945 the school was severely damaged by bombing, including the complete destruction of its library of 14,000 books. Reconstruction of the school was largely completed by 1954, with the main spire finished in 1975 and the church's baroque altar in 2004. From 1971 the school began to accept girls, though a boys’ class remained into the 1990s. From 2013 to 2014 the school worked in partnership with the Mildenhall College Academy,

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

to create a monument commemorating the

Christmas Truce The Christmas truce (; ; ) was a series of widespread unofficial ceasefires along the Western Front of the First World War around Christmas 1914. The truce occurred five months after hostilities had begun. Lulls occurred in the fighting a ...

. The monument is thought to be the first of its kind in Europe. It is located in the Peace Village of Mesen,

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Languages

Latin remains compulsory in Years 5-10 (approximately ages 10–16), being optional thereafter. English is also compulsory as a foreign language, though secondary to Latin. In Year 8 (age 14), either French or Ancient Greek are chosen as additional languages. From Year 10 (age 16), Spanish is also optionally available.

Notable alumni

* Altmann von Passau († 1105), Bishop of

Passau Passau (; ) is a city in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is also known as the ("City of Three Rivers"), as the river Danube is joined by the Inn (river), Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north. Passau's population is about 50,000, of whom ...

* Saint Vicelinus (1090–1154), Bishop of

Oldenburg in Holstein Oldenburg in Holstein () is a German town at the southwestern shore of the Baltic Sea. The nearest city is Lübeck. The town belongs to the (historical) region of Holstein, today in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Oldenburg was the chi ...

Athanasius Kircher Athanasius Kircher (2 May 1602 – 27 November 1680) was a German Society of Jesus, Jesuit scholar and polymath who published around 40 major works of comparative religion, geology, and medicine. Kircher has been compared to fellow Jes ...

(1602-1680),

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

polymath A polymath or polyhistor is an individual whose knowledge spans many different subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. Polymaths often prefer a specific context in which to explain their knowledge, ...

, "Master of a Hundred Arts" * Vitus Georg Tönnemann (1659-1740), confessor to Emperor Charles VI * Johann Conrad Schlaun (1695–1773),

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

architect and soldier * Karl Becker (philologist) (1775–1849),

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

educationalist Education sciences, also known as education studies or education theory, and traditionally called ''pedagogy'', seek to describe, understand, and prescribe education including education policy. Subfields include comparative education, educationa ...

, and

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...

* Friedrich Wilhelm Weber (1813–1894), poet and member of Prussian Assembly *

(1815–1897), Mathematician, “father of modern

” * Wilhelm Wilmers (1817–1899),

* Franz von Löher (1818–1892),

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

, and activist in the

German revolutions of 1848–1849 The German revolutions of 1848–1849 (), the opening phase of which was also called the March Revolution (), were initially part of the Revolutions of 1848 that broke out in many European countries. They were a series of loosely coordinated p ...

August Potthast August Potthast (13 August 1824, Höxter, Province of Westphalia13 February 1898, Leobschütz), was a German historian, was born at Höxter, and was educated at Paderborn, Münster and Berlin. He assisted GH Pertz, the editor of the ''Monume ...

(1824–1898), historian and librarian of the Reichstag * Bonaventure Lüthen (1846-1911), priest and founding member of the Society of the Divine Savior * Heinrich Wilhelm Waldeyer (1836–1921),

anatomist Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...

, known for summarizing neuron theory and for naming the

chromosome A chromosome is a package of DNA containing part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes, the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with nucleosome-forming packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells, the most import ...

* Clemens Bäumker (1853–1924),

historian of philosophy The history of philosophy is the systematic study of the development of Philosophy, philosophical thought. It focuses on philosophy as rational inquiry based on argumentation, but some theorists also include myth, Religion, religious traditions ...

* Engelbert Humperdinck (1854–1921), composer, best known for the opera

Hansel and Gretel "Hansel and Gretel" (; ) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 as part of ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). Hansel and Gretel are siblings who are abandoned in a forest and fall into the hands of a witch ...

* Caspar Klein (1865–1941), Archbishop of Paderborn and opponent of

Nazism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...

(1876–1933),

Chancellor of Germany The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, is the head of the federal Cabinet of Germany, government of Germany. The chancellor is the chief executive of the Federal Government of Germany, ...

* Paul Lejeune-Jung (1882–1944), member of the Reichstag, and resistance fighter against

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

Third Reich Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

* Hugo Aufderbeck (1909-1981),

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

and

Apostolic Administrator An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...

Meiningen Meiningen () is a town in the southern part of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in the region of Franconia and has a population of around 26,000 (2024).

. * Franz Hengsbach (1910–1991),

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and Bishop of Essen * Franz-Joseph Schulze (1918–2005),

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe (CINCENT). Recipient of the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. While it was order of precedence, lower in preceden ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

* Friedrich Wilhelm Christians (1922–2004), chairman of the supervisory board of

Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (, ) is a Germany, German multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. ...

and president of the

Association of German Banks The ''Bundesverband deutscher Banken'' (BdB, also branded as Bankenverband and in English as Association of German Banks) is the representative body of profit-oriented banks in Germany and a key lobby group for Germany's financial sector. The Bd ...

* Werner Franke (1940–2022),

molecular biologist Molecular biology is a branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecule, molecular basis of biological activity in and between Cell (biology), cells, including biomolecule, biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactio ...

Elmar Brok Elmar Peter Brok (born 14 May 1946) is a German politician who was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1980 until 2019. He was the chairman of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs from 1999-2007 and from 2012-2017. He i ...

(* 1946),

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

(MEP) from 1980 until 2019, best known for his role as chairman of the

European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs The Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET, after the French name ''Affaires étrangères''), previously called Political Affairs, is a committee of the European Parliament. It is responsible for the common foreign, security, and defence policy of th ...

* Franz-Josef Bode (* 1951),

Bishop of Osnabrück A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

, Deputy Chairman of the German Bishops' Conference * Gerhard Jorch (* 1951),

pediatrician Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many of their youth ...

* Burkhard Blienert (* 1966), Commissioner on Narcotic Drugs at the Federal Ministry of Health; former Member of the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...

* Claudia Buch (* 1966), economist, Chair of the European Central Bank Supervisory Board * Bernd Hüttemann (* 1970), Vice President of the

European Movement International The European Movement International is a lobbying association that coordinates the efforts of associations and national councils with the goal of promoting European integration, and disseminating information about it. History Initially the Eur ...

Literature

* Conrad Bade: ''Das Theodorianische Gymnasium von 1609–1773 und die spätern Verhältnisse desselben bis zu seiner Reorganisation durch die Preußische Regierung 1819.'' In: Zeitschrift für vaterländische Geschichte und Altertumskunde, Vol 10 (1847), p. 60–114
Google Books
Sonderdruck
ULB Münster
* Festschrift zur Feier des dreihundertjährigen Jubiläums des königlichen Gymnasiums Theodorianum in

1912. Verlag: Junfermannsche Buchdruckerei. * Das Paderborner Gymnasium Theodorianum und seine Baugeschichte; Segin, Leppelmann, Mensing, 1954. * Festschrift des Gymnasiums Theodorianum in

zur 350. Wiederkehr der Grundsteinlegung des Schulgebäudes 1962. Eds.: F.-J. Weber, F. Ostermann, E. Nitsche. Verlag: Westfalen Druckerei GmbH. * Von der Domschule zum Theodorianum Paderborn, Klemens Honselmann, Verein für Altertumskunde Westfalens Abteilung Paderborn, Band 3, Bonifacius Druckerei Paderborn, 1962. * * Butterwegge, Hubert: ''Viri illustres'' aus Paderborn: eine Tafel als Visitenkarte des altehrwürdigen Gymnasium Theodorianum. In: Jahrbuch Westfalen 48.1994 (1993) S. 35–38: Ill.

External links

Official Website

TheoGo!

References

{{Authority control 17th-century architecture in Europe 799 establishments Gymnasiums in Germany Jesuit schools in Germany Educational institutions established in the 8th century Schools in North Rhine-Westphalia Jesuit history in Germany Buildings and structures completed in the 8th century