The Casimirianum, known to the students as the "Casi", is a ''
Gymnasium'' in
Coburg
Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it was ...
,
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
. It was founded in 1605 by
Johann Casimir
John Casimir, Count Palatine of Simmern (German: ''Johann Casimir von Pfalz-Simmern'') (7 March 1543 – Brockhaus Geschichte Second Edition) was a German prince and a younger son of Frederick III, Elector Palatine. A firm Calvinist, he was a lea ...
, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg (15641633), and named after him. Today the Casimirianum is a linguistic and humanistic high school with the curriculum including Latin from 5th Grade, English from 6th Grade, and
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
,
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
,
French or
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
as the third compulsory foreign language. With the school year of 2009–10, the program was expanded with a scientific-technological branch with Latin as a second language. The Casimirianum was once involved with a German pilot program,
"The European Gymnasium" and was one of 44 Model Schools of
"MODUS21", but both programs were closed by 2009.
History
The Casimirianum is a
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
building designed and built by Peter Sengelaub. On 2 September 1601, the foundation stone was laid by Duke Johann Casimir and he returned on 3 July 1605 the inauguration. According to the foundation charter, the Duke intended this state school to be ''ein medium oder Mittel'' (German, "a medium or middle") between a ''Trivialschule'' (an elementary school) and a high school or academy. The lectures were to be ''public et gratis'' (Latin, "free to the public"). A ''Convictorium'' (Latin, "boarding school") was established "with two tables, of twenty-four boys, one table free, and the other, for a weekly fee of 7
groschen
Groschen (; from la, grossus "thick", via Old Czech ') a (sometimes colloquial) name for various coins, especially a silver coin used in various states of the Holy Roman Empire and other parts of Europe. The word is borrowed from the late L ...
by any person"
[ Johann Casimir, ''Constitutionem et Dotationem'', p. 8, paragraph 1] The Duke understood "how sometimes . . . poor people's children, who are naturally good and capable of intelligence, and the same to seek and learn, are also eager to be educated, are often overlooked, ignored and neglected; that we would not like to hear or be heard in the least..."
From the ''Bewiddungsbrief'' (Letter of Evaluation) of Duke Johann Casimir, the Foundation Charter of the Casimirianum, dated 3 July 1605: "Undoubtedly, in the view of these regulations and foundation of our school, the ''praeceptores''
atin, "teachers"held truly and abundantly, and the public lectures multiplied. Also the ''beneficium communis mensæ''
atin, "common good of the table"must be properly conducted; it will follow and further such Christian work, to honor God, to edify Christendom, and to maintain our lands, with the time of good-hearted people and foremost our descendants, that it achieves the original goals intentionally."
On 11 November 1677
Emperor Leopold I
Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; hu, I. Lipót; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, by his first wife, Maria An ...
granted the Imperial privilege to establish a new university in Coburg. In 1705, on the occasion of the centennial of the school, the University of Coburg was proclaimed. But, in 1723, it was abandoned because of the infighting among the seven participating
Ernestine Ernestine is a feminine given name. Ernest is the male counterpart of this name. Notable people with the name include:
* Ernestine Anderson (1928–2016), American jazz and blues singer
* Ernestine Bayer (1909–2006), American athlete
* Ernestine ...
princes and of the lack of funding. So were the efforts of a joint committee for a second university for
Jena
Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a popu ...
. The Casimirianum Gymnasium has continued to use the original building, built in 1607.
Architecture
Across the street from the ''
Morizkirche'' (St. Maurice's Church), on the corner lot at ''Neugasse'', ''Ratskornhaus'', built in 1496, stood until 1601. Then Duke Johann Casimir had it razed and rebuilt. On this spot, in 1605, Nikolaus Bergner and Peter Sengelaub created a ''Hohe Schule mit Convictorium'' (high school with a dormitory). For Bergner, it was the second of his three buildings in Coburg. The construction of the government offices at ''
Stadthaus
Stadthaus is a nine-storey residential building in Hackney, London. At nine stories (30 meters/98 feet), it is thought to be the second tallest timber residential structure in the world, after the Forte apartment complex in Melbourne, Austral ...
'' and ''
Rathaus'' on ''Marktplatz'' in the center of Coburg had just been finished, and it would be followed by the ''Zeughaus'', now the State Archives of Coburg.
[Morsbach and Titz, ''Stadt Coburg'', p. 48]
The two-story
gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...
roof in the Renaissance style is outlined by a series of six
spire light
Spire light (French language, Fr. ''lucarne''), the term given to the windows in a spire which are found in all periods of English Gothic architecture, and in French spires form a very important feature in the composition.
There is an early examp ...
s with richly detailed edges and each of the spire lights is sloped as steep as a pyramid. Both three-story-tall ends of the gable roof are very ornately designed with barrettes of
volute
A volute is a spiral, scroll-like ornament that forms the basis of the Ionic order, found in the capital of the Ionic column. It was later incorporated into Corinthian order and Composite column capitals. Four are normally to be found on an Ion ...
s and each of the five pyramids slopes to the bottom of the partitions. The three-to-eight window bays on the upper floors are designed as large windows with
mullion
A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid supp ...
s; only the gable ends have only one window in the middle. The ground floor is bisected, approximately in the middle, by a portal with a sculptured arch, which consists of overlapping rods and this
entablature
An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...
with an
architrave
In classical architecture, an architrave (; from it, architrave "chief beam", also called an epistyle; from Greek ἐπίστυλον ''epistylon'' "door frame") is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of columns.
The term can ...
, a
frieze
In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...
and a cornice resting on the
corbel
In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the s ...
s. Left of this door is an entrance porch, with a low round arch supported by corbels with leaf volutes and topped with a cornice with a
cymatium
Cymatium, the uppermost molding at the top of the cornice in the classical order, is made of the s-shaped cyma molding (either ''cyma recta'' or ''cyma reversa''), combining a concave cavetto with a convex ovolo. It is characteristic of Ionic colu ...
and a
dentil
A dentil (from Lat. ''dens'', a tooth) is a small block used as a repeating ornament in the bedmould of a cornice. Dentils are found in ancient Greek and Roman architecture, and also in later styles such as Neoclassical, Federal, Georgian Reviv ...
. On the northeast corner, facing the church, at the level of the upper floor, is the stone figure of the school's founder, Duke Johann Casimir, replaced in 1638 by Veit Dümpel. Originally, the gable's face at the right side of the figure was painted with the images of famous scientists. In the middle of the roof, set on the top of the ridge, there is an outstanding polygonal stair-tower with a spiral staircase of stone, an onion dome and a lantern, from which the Gymnasium's little bell hangs. In the auditorium of the Gymnasium, there are wood panel paintings featuring the allegories of the
Seven Virtues, which were discovered in the ''Muenzmeisterhaus''
''Muenzmeisterhaus'' in 1957.
Over the course of four hundred years, many renovations and additions as well as the demolition of the surrounding townhouses created the present campus of the Gymnasium. The last enlargements 1961 were the construction of a gym with a recreation hall at the ''Neugasse'' and, between 1986 and 1988 and an additional school building with a music room in the direction of ''Ketschengasse''.
Traditions
At the end of each school year during the annual festival, the foundation of the stone figure of the school's founder Duke Johann Casimir is "crowned" at the corner of the Renaissance building of the school. A student or a student girl in the upper third (in terms of his or her school performance) of the 12th Grade makes a speech. Then he or she, along with the year's valedictorian, climbs up a ladder to the figure of the school's founder and lays a
wreath
A wreath () is an assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs, or various materials that is constructed to form a circle .
In English-speaking countries, wreaths are used typically as household ornaments, most commonly as an Advent and Chri ...
on the keystone. Another wreath is attached to the arm of the former ruler. Then the students empty three consecutive glasses of beer (sometimes apple juice as a substitute), each time with the following Latin words ''Gymnasium Casimirianum Vivat'', ''crescat'', and ''floreat in aeternum'' (Translation: "Long live Casimirianum Gymnasium, may it grow and bloom forever") and throw them to the ground. The shards of the glasses are avidly collected by the students because they are supposed to bring them good luck and good grades in the next school year. In the festivities, the three-verse school song (melody: ''Vom hoh'n Olymp'', From high Olympus) is also sung, the first two verses before the coronation, the last at the conclusion.
[“Gymnasium Casimirianum”]
''Schülerverbindung Casimiriana'' at www.casimiriana.de. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
Since 1861, the ''Schülerverbindung Casimiriana'' (Casimirana Students Society), an independent and egalitarian fraternity for male students, has been connected with the higher grades at the Gymnasium.
Notable former students
* (1691–1621), novelist in the
Rococo
Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...
era, attended from 1709 to 1713
*
Johann Caspar Goethe
Johann Caspar Goethe (29 July 1710 – 25 May 1782) was a wealthy German jurist and royal councillor to the Kaiser of the Holy Roman Empire. His son, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, is considered one of the greatest German poets and authors of all ti ...
(1710–1782), father of
Johann Wolfgang Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treatis ...
, attended from 1725 to 1728
*
Johann Georg Meusel
Johann Georg Meusel (17 March 1743 – 19 September 1820) was a German bibliographer, lexicographer and historian.
Meusel was born in Eyrichshof. From 1764 he studied history and philology at the University of Göttingen, where his instructo ...
(1743–1820), historian, and lexico-bibliographer, attended from 1758 to 1764
* (1813–1888), writer, attended from 1828 to 1834
*
August Schleicher
August Schleicher (; 19 February 1821 – 6 December 1868) was a German linguist. His great work was ''A Compendium of the Comparative Grammar of the Indo-European Languages'' in which he attempted to reconstruct the Proto-Indo-European languag ...
(1821–1868), linguist and pioneer of Indo-European Studies, attended from 1835 to 1839
[ Silvia Pfister, ”''Bedeutende Gelehrte aus dem Casimirianum''”]
*
Bernhard Fischer
Johann Friedrich Bernhard Fischer (19 February 1852 Coburg - 2 August 1915 Dadizele) was a German bacteriologist noted for his classification system for bacteria.
Biography
After attending Casimirianum from 1862 to 1871, he was educated at the ...
(1852–1915), attended from 1862 to 1871
* (1867–1945), lawyer and politician, graduated 1887
*
Hans Berger
Hans Berger (21 May 1873 – 1 June 1941) was a German psychiatrist. He is best known as the inventor of electroencephalography (EEG) in 1924, which is a method used for recording the electrical activity of the brain, commonly described in terms ...
(1873–1941), a neurologist and psychiatrist, graduated 1892
*
Samuel Friedrich Diez
Samuel Friedrich Diez ( 19 December 1803 – 11 March 1873) was a German portraitist and court official. He served as court painter to Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. An influential artist in royal courts across Europe, he was made Honorary Des ...
(1803–1873, court painter
* (1876–1965), food chemist, attended from 1886 to 1893
* (1891–1947), an Evangelical Lutheran bishop, populist and activist, graduated 1911
*
Georg Hansen
Colonel Georg Alexander Hansen (5 July 1904, Sonnefeld, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha – 8 September 1944, Plötzensee, Germany) was an ''Oberst'' (Colonel) in the '' Generalstab'' (General Staff of the German Army) and one of the participants in the G ...
(1904–1944), resistance fighter of 20 July 1944, attended from 1914 to 1923
*
Hans Morgenthau
Hans Joachim Morgenthau (February 17, 1904 – July 19, 1980) was a German-American jurist and political scientist who was one of the major 20th-century figures in the study of international relations. Morgenthau's works belong to the tradition o ...
(1904–1980), a lawyer and political scientist, attended from 1914? to 1923
* (1913–2010),
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
(Ret.) in the
Bundeswehr
The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...
, graduated 1931
*
Michael Stoschek
Michael Stoschek (born 1947/1948) is a German billionaire businessman, chairman of Brose Fahrzeugteile, the German car parts company founded by his grandfather Max Brose, a Wehrwirtschaftsführer in Nazi Germany.
Early life
Michael Stoschek was ...
, chairman of Brose GmbH & Co. KG, attended from 1957 to 1967
* , lawyer and local politician, attended from 1966 to 1975
* , lawyer and
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
since 1990 of Coburg, attended from 1970 to 1979
*
Heinrich Bedford-Strohm
Heinrich Bedford-Strohm (born 30 March 1960 in Memmingen) is a German Lutheran bishop.
Life
His father was a Lutheran priest in Memmingen. Bedford-Strohm studied Lutheran theology at Erlangen, Heidelberg and Berkeley. In 1997, he became a pas ...
, Evangelical Lutheran bishop from Bavaria, graduated 1979
* , politician and university professor, attended from 1980 to 1989
Notable teachers
*
Andreas Libavius
Andreas Libavius or Andrew Libavius was born in Halle, Germany c. 1550 and died in July 1616. Libavius was a renaissance man who spent time as a professor at the University of Jena teaching history and poetry. After which he became a physician a ...
(1555–1616), alchemist who wrote one of the first chemistry textbooks
*
Johann Matthäus Meyfart (1590–1642), professor since 1617, director since 1623 fought as Protestant theologian against the persecution of witches
* (1604–1677), author of writings on Greek and Hebrew as well as mathematics and physics
* (1687–1776), Lutheran theologian
* (1673–1745), 1700–1713 director, Lutheran theologian, opponent of
Pietism
Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christian life, including a social concern for the needy and ...
* (1723–1778), Lutheran theologian, historian, orator and teacher
* (1768–1818), geologist, geographer and cartographer
Quotations
He had spent his youth at the Coburg Gymnasium, which among German schools took one of the first places. He was placed on a good foundation there in the languages, and what else was expected of a learned education...
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as trea ...
on his father Johannes Caspar Goethe, cited from ''Aus meinem Leben,
Dichtung und Wahrheit
''Aus meinem Leben: Dichtung und Wahrheit'' (''From my Life: Poetry and Truth''; 1811–1833) is an autobiography by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe that comprises the time from the poet's childhood to the days in 1775, when he was about to leave for ...
, Erstes Buch'', p. 21, line 31 and p. 22, lines 1–4, from the English translation by
John Oxenford
John Oxenford (12 August 1812 – 21 February 1877) was an English dramatist, critic and translator.
Life
Oxenford was born in Camberwell, London, his father a prosperous merchant. Whilst he was privately educated, it is reported that he was m ...
, ''The Autobiography of Goethe: Truth and Poetry, From My Own Life'' (London: Henry G. Bohn, 1848)
p. 20
References
Bibliography
* Johann Casimir, Duke of Saxe-Coburg, Chapter 4: “''Scriptum Qvod Gymnasii Constitutionem et Dotationem continet''”
atin: Written List containing the Constitution and Endowment of the Gymnasium In: ''Inauguratio Illustris Gymnasii Casimiriani ab Illvstrissimo Principe Ac Domino D. Iohanne Casimiro, Duce Saxoniae, Landgravio Thuringiae, Marchione Misniae, &c. apud Coburgenses aperti. Quae Feliciter Coepta & peracta die 3. Julii, anni currentis Et In Patriae Ac Regionum vicinarum gratiam literis prodita fuit, A Designatis Scholarchis, Rectore & Collegis Gymnasii Casimiriani'' [Latin: From the Inauguration of the Illustrious Casimirianum Gymnasium by the Illustrious Prince and Lord Duke Johann Casimir, Duke of Saxony, Landgrave of Thuringia, Margrave of Meissen, etc., and opened in Coburg, Which Happily Began and ended on the third of July in the current year And in the Country and neighboring Regions, for which the program was produced And Designed by Scholars, Rector & Faculty of the Casimirianum Gymnasium] (Coburg: Justus Hauck, 1605)
* ''Festausschuss'' [Festival Committee], ed., ''Festschrift zum 350jährigen Bestehen des Gymnasium Casimirianum Coburg'' [Festival Program of the 350th Anniversary of the Casimirianum Gymnasium of Coburg] (Coburg:
Riemann in Komm.”,1955)
* Rudolf Brückner, ed., ''Casimiriana 1861 - 1961, Hundert Jahre einer Schülerverbindung''
asimiriana 1861 - 1961, One Hundred Years of a Student Society(Coburg: ''Altherren-Verband der Casimiriana Coburg e. V.''
ld Boys Association of the Casimiriana of Coburg, Inc. 1961)
* Norbert Enser and Rudolf Brückner, eds., ''125 Jahr Casimiriana: die Geschichte der Casimiriana und das Leben der Aktivitas einst und jetzt''
25 Years of the Casimiriana and the Life of the Brothers Then and Now(Coburg: ''Altherren-Verband der Casimiriana Coburg e. V.'', 1986)
* Joachim Goslar and Wolfgang Tasler, eds., ''Musarum Sedes: 1605 - 2005, Festschrift zum 400-jährigen Bestehen des Gymnasiums Casimirianum Coburg''
in Latin) “Seat of the Muses”: (in German) 1605 - 2005, Festival Program for the 400th Anniversary of the Casimirianum Gymnasium of Coburg(Coburg: Gymnasium Casimiranium, 2005)
* Gymnasium Casimirianum and Schülerverbindung Casimiriana, eds., ''Casimirianum - Casimiriana : Festgabe der Schülerverbindung Casimiriana zu Coburg zum 400. Schulstiftungsfest des Gymnasiums Casimirianum zu Coburg''
asimirianum - Casimiriana: Festival Program of the Casimiriana Students Society of Coburg for the 400th Anniversary of the Foundation of the Casimirianum Gymnasium of Coburg(Coburg: ''Altherren-Verband der Casimiriana Coburg e. V.'', 2005; Würzburg: ''Studentengeschichtliche Vereinigung des Coburger Convents''
he Coburger Convent, Historical Society of the Students 2005)
* Peter Morsbach, Otto Titz: ''Stadt Coburg. Ensembles-Baudenkmäler-Archäologische Denkmäler. Denkmäler in Bayern. Band IV''
ity of Coburg. Assembled Monuments and Archaeological Monuments. Monuments in Bavaria. Volume IV p. 48. (Munich: Karl M. Lipp Verlag, 2006)
* Silvia Pfister
”''Bedeutende Gelehrte aus dem Casimirianum''” rominent Teachers from the Casimirianum In: ”''Ausstellung: Bibliotheca Casimiriana''’
xhibition: The Casimiriana Library ''Landesbibiliothek Coburg.de''
tate Library of Coburg(LBC). Retrieved 4 February 2013.
External links
*
* Official Website of the Casimirianum's school newspaper, th
“Casiopeia”
* Official Website of the Casimirianum's school fraternity, th
''Schülerverbindung Casimiriana'' asimiriana Students Society
{{Authority control
Educational institutions established in the 1600s
Schools in Bavaria
1605 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire
Coburg
Buildings and structures in Coburg