The Bischöfliches Gymnasium Petrinum () is a Catholic

private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

of the Diocese of Linz situated on the slopes of Poestlingberg hill in Urfahr, which is a part of

Linz Linz (Pronunciation: , ; ) is the capital of Upper Austria and List of cities and towns in Austria, third-largest city in Austria. Located on the river Danube, the city is in the far north of Austria, south of the border with the Czech Repub ...

History

On 2 July 1896 the building works began. The imposing structure, which is said to have nearly a thousand windows, housed the Gymnasium and an associated boarding home. The institution, originally thought to educated future priests and prepare them for their time at the

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

, soon became one of the leading schools in Upper Austria. In 1903 it was visited by the emperor

Franz Joseph I Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

. During World War I, the school was used as a

military hospital A military hospital is a hospital owned or operated by a military. They are often reserved for the use of military personnel and their dependents, but in some countries are made available to civilians as well. They may or may not be located on a m ...

, which caused the erection of the Kriegerfriedhof (cemetery for dead soldiers). After the

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "German Question, Greater Germany") arose after t ...

of Austria by Germany in 1938, Hitler planned to turn the school into a

technical college An institute of technology (also referred to as technological university, technical university, university of technology, polytechnic university) is an institution of tertiary education that specializes in engineering, technology, applied science ...

These plans forced the disruption of the studies at Petrinum, but were never finally carried out. After World War II, at first 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 ...

occupied the house, the regular education being resumed only not until 1946. The boarding home is now closed, the school being

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

since 1993.

Notable alumni

* Alois Brandstetter – Austrian writer * Rudolf Habringer – Austrian writer, journalist, comedian and pianist *

Augustinus Franz Kropfreiter Augustinus Franz Kropfreiter (9 September 1936 – 26 September 2003) was member of the Austrian , composer and organist. Life Born in Hargelsberg, Kropfreiter spent his school years from 1948 at the Catholic Bischöfliches Gymnasium Petrinum ...

– Austrian composer *

Josef Pühringer Josef Pühringer (; born 30 October 1949 in Traun) is a former Austrian politician. From 2 March 1995 to 6 April 2017 he was the governor (Landeshauptmann) of Upper Austria. He is a member of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP). He is a member ...

– governor of Upper-Austria * Franz Rieger – Austrian writer * Manfred Scheuer –

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 ...

* Peter Paul Wiplinger – Austrian writer and photographer

External links

Homepage of the Verband der Altpetriner
Schools in Linz {{Austria-school-stub