The Casimirianum in Neustadt an der Haardt (currently

Neustadt an der Weinstraße Neustadt an der Weinstraße (, formerly known as ; lb, Neustadt op der Wäistrooss ; pfl, Naischdadt) is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. With 53,300 inhabitants , it is the largest town called ''Neustadt''. Geography Location T ...

Rheinland-Pfalz Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

) was a

Reformed Reform is beneficial change Reform may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine *''Reforme'' ("Reforms"), initial name of the ...

academy An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

, which was founded in 1578 by

Count Palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an ord ...

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 ...

and named after him. The Casimirianum endured only five years. Today the name is used for the restored historical building that the Casmirianum occupied.

Location

The Casimirianum is in the northwest of the town center of Neustadt on the

Speyerbach The Speyerbach is a left tributary of the Rhine in the Palatinate part of Rhineland-Palatinate. In Speyer, the river split into ''Gießhübelbach'' and ''Woogbach''. The Woogbach changes its name to ''Nonnenbach'', then flows into Gießhübe ...

river, close to the marketplace, Stiftskirche and Mariankirche.

History

After the death of the

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

Elector Frederick III, the Pious, in 1576, his son and successor Elector Louis VI restored Lutheranism in the Palatinate. In time, all professors and students at the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

were forced to sign the

Formula of Concord Formula of Concord (1577) (German, ''Konkordienformel''; Latin, ''Formula concordiae''; also the "''Bergic Book''" or the "''Bergen Book''") is an authoritative Lutheran statement of faith (called a confession, creed, or "symbol") that, in its t ...

, which repudiated the

confession. As an alternative university for those who refused to sign, and therefore were forced to leave

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

, Count Palatine Johann Casimir – who unlike his older brother Ludwig was an adherent of the Reformed Church – created the Casimirianum. The institution was erected in 1578/79 through the rebuilding and expansion of the "white cell," a building with

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

and

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 ...

features, which was part of the former

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...

. The university was equipped with ''Partikularschule'' and a ''Paedagogium'' (also called the “Gymnasium illustre”) upstream to enable students to prepare for advanced studies. The university only remained in Neustadt for a few years; the faculty returned to Heidelberg in 1583/84 during Johann Casimir’s regency under Elector Frederick IV.

Graduates

* Wilhelm von Curti (Sir William Curtius) FRS (1599 - 1678)

Faculty

Current situation

After its restoration in the late 20th century, the Casimirianum mainly is used today for cultural events. The Kurfürst-Ruprecht-Gymnasium, the oldest high school in the city, evolved during the course 19th century from the tradition of Casimirianum on the basis of a Latin school. The other schools were founded over a hundred years later.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Casimirianum Neustadt Educational institutions established in the 1570s Defunct universities and colleges in Germany 1578 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire Neustadt an der Weinstraße 1583 disestablishments in the Holy Roman Empire