{{Use dmy dates, date=December 2023 Vantore_Rytterskole_01

A rytterskole (English: ''rider school'' or ''

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

school'') was a type of school erected in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

in the years 1721–1727 for the education of common children. The schools were located in 12 cavalry districts established in 1715–1718, during the

Great Nordic War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedish alliance were Peter ...

, to reform and improve the cavalry in Denmark, from which the schools got their name. They were not military schools, as the name might suggest, but rather a predecessor to the Danish public schools founded in 1814. The 12 districts were

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, Frederiksborg,

Kronborg Kronborg is a castle and historical stronghold in the town of Helsingør, Denmark. Immortalised as Elsinore in William Shakespeare's play ''Hamlet'', Kronborg is one of the most important Renaissance castles in Northern Europe. It was inscribed ...

Antvorskov Antvorskov Monastery (Danish: ''Antvorskov Kloster'') was the principal Scandinavian monastery of the Catholic Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, located about one kilometer south of the town of Slagelse on Zealand, Denmark. It served as the Scand ...

Tryggevælde Tryggevælde is a manor house and estate in Faxe Municipality, some fifty kilometres southwest of Copenhagen, Denmark. The estate was a royal fief until the middle of the 18th century and was later owned by the Moltke family at Bregentved from 175 ...

Vordingborg Vordingborg () is a market town and old ferry town on the south coast of the island of Zealand in Denmark. Because of three large estates surrounding the town, a coherent urban development has not been possible, which is the reason why three sat ...

Kolding Kolding () is a Denmark, Danish seaport city located at the head of Kolding Fjord in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the seat of Kolding Municipality. It is a transportation, commercial, and manufacturing centre and has numerous industria ...

, Dronningborg,

Skanderborg Skanderborg is a town in Skanderborg Municipality, Denmark. It is situated on the north and north eastern brinks of Skanderborg Lake and there are several smaller ponds and bodies of water within the city itself, like Lillesø, Sortesø, Døj S ...

Falster Falster () is an island in south-eastern Denmark with an area of and 43,398 inhabitants as of 1 January 2010.

Lolland Lolland (; formerly spelled ''Laaland'', literally "low land") is the List of islands of Denmark#List of 100 largest Danish islands, fourth largest island of Denmark, with an area of . Located in the Kattegat, Belts and Sund area, it is part of Re ...

and

Fyn Proto-oncogene tyrosine-protein kinase Fyn (p59-FYN, Slk, Syn, MGC45350, Gene ID 2534) is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''FYN'' gene. Fyn is a 59-kDa member of the Src family of kinases typically associated with T-cell and neurona ...

. Each of these was meant to host 20 schools, making for 240 in all; however, some districts received more than 20 and some less, although the total still numbered 240. A 13th district was established on

Møn Møn () is an island in south-eastern Denmark. Until 1 January 2007, it was a municipality in its own right but it is now part of the municipality of Vordingborg Municipality, Vordingborg, after merging with the former municipalities of Langeb ...

in 1726, and a 241st school was built on

Bogø Bogø () is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea, just west of Møn. The population is 1,183 (1 January 2024) with 930 living in the only town on the island, ''Bogø By''. The island is approximately 7 km long by 3 km wide at the largest p ...

in 1727.

External links

Rytterskoler in Denmark
History of education in Denmark