The Gymnasium Christianeum is a famous former

Latin school The Latin school was the grammar school of 14th- to 19th-century Europe, though the latter term was much more common in England. Emphasis was placed, as the name indicates, on learning to use Latin. The education given at Latin schools gave gre ...

(German: ''Lateinschule'') in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, northern Germany. Founded in 1738 by King

Christian VI of Denmark Christian VI (30 November 1699 – 6 August 1746) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1730 to 1746. The eldest surviving son of Frederick IV and Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, he is considered one of Denmark-Norway's more anonymous kings, bu ...

, it is now housed in a building planned by Danish designer

Arne Jacobsen Arne Emil Jacobsen, Hon. FAIA () 11 February 1902 – 24 March 1971) was a Danish architect and furniture designer. He is remembered for his contribution to architectural functionalism and for the worldwide success he enjoyed with simple we ...

History

The first Latin school here was founded as early as 1688 (according to other sources 1683) in Altona (now a part of Hamburg). Decades later the school acquired the status of a famous '' Gymnasium'', the most famous in the duchy of

Holstein Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of German ...

, and was re-founded by Christian VI. In 1971, the school was relocated from Hamburg-Altona to its current location in the quarter

Othmarschen Othmarschen () is a quarter in the Altona borough of the Hamburg in northern Germany. In 2020 the population was 16,009. History The first records on Othmarschen are from 1317. Together with Altona, Othmarschen became a part of Hamburg in 1937/1 ...

.The history of the Christianeum reflects also the history of Altona, Schleswig Holstein and Denmark. In 1738, when the first eight students enlisted themselves. Two years later, the founder Christian the VI. visited the new school. In the following years, the school expanded. In 1745, it had already 45 students and four years later the first Jewish student attended the school. Between 1738 and 1800, many famous intellectuals attended the christianeum as the philosopher Salomon Maimon and the poet Johann Christoph Unzer or the famous Danish painter Jes Bundsen. In 1816, king Frederik the VI donated the FLORA DANICA, one of the most precious treasures, even nowadays, to the library of the Christianeum, just 16 years later the distinguished historian Theodor Mommsen attended the school. He is probably one of the most famous students the school has ever had. In 1853 followed philosopher Friedrich Paulsen. In 1880, the Christianeum was rebuilt. In 1885, 461 students attended the Christianeum and in the same year the first school trip was made. The 150-anniversary was celebrated in 1888. In 1902,

Theodor Mommsen Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (; 30 November 1817 – 1 November 1903) was a German classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician and archaeologist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest classicists of the 19th cent ...

received the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

for Literature. In 1900, Hermann Weyls became a student of the school. He was going to be one of the very well established scientists of the 20th century in mathematics. 36 students of the school participate in the First World War voluntarily. In total, 133 students participate in the war. In 1917, the school had 470 students, in 1921 only 260. In May 1925, the first school trip to Puan Klent took place. When

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...

came into power, many teachers who did not agree with the nationalism ideology got fired. In 1934, 75% of the students were in the

Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth (german: Hitlerjugend , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. ...

although being part of it was not compulsory. The school started again on 6 August 1945. 192 teachers and students became victims of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The library got damaged which resulted from the bombings. In the year 1946, 792 students attended the school. In mid-1947, school trips to Puan Klent started again. In the 1950s, jazz became popular among students. In mid-1953, the first school trip abroad was made (to Italy). The pupil's magazine ''Die Lupe'' got a prize of the city Hamburg for being the best pupils magazine in Hamburg. In 1960, the C-orchestra was established, which is still active nowadays. In 1964, the advertisement for an architect for the new building was published; Danish architect

got the job. In 1965, the first female teacher was introduced. Start of the building of the new designed Christianeum in 1968. In the same year Russian is introduced as a subject.

Present

Nowadays, classes in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

and English are mandatory from fifth grade. In grade nine students can choose between either

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

or Russian. Additionally, courses in Spanish, French and

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

are offered. The Christianeum has a sizable music department, the school choir being the largest in Germany. Furthermore, the school actively takes part in exchange programs with schools in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. On average, enrollment goes well beyond 100 students per year, exceeding most other schools in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

in size.

Notable alumni

Jacob Georg Christian Adler Jakob Georg Christian Adler (8 December 1756, in Arnis near Kappeln, Schleswig – 22 August 1834, in Giekau near Lütjenburg) was a Danish-German Generalsuperintendent for Holstein and Schleswig, Orientalist, Syriac language professor at the Un ...

(1756–1834), orientalist *

Peter Behrens Peter Behrens (14 April 1868 – 27 February 1940) was a leading German architect, graphic and industrial designer, best known for his early pioneering AEG Turbine Hall in Berlin in 1909. He had a long career, designing objects, typefaces, and i ...

(1868–1940), architect and designer *

Lars Clausen Lars Michael Clausen (8 April 1935, Berlin – 20 May 2010, Hamburg) was a German sociologist and professor at the University of Kiel. Life and work During World War II, the family lived on the Darß (in Pomerania). 1944 his father Jürgen Cla ...

(1935–2010), sociologist *

Ernst Dammann Ernst Karl Alwin Hans Dammann (6 May 1904 in Pinneberg, Holstein – 12 July 2003 in Pinneberg ) was a German Africanist. With Walter Markov, he was one of the founders of African Studies in the DDR, and as a student of Carl Meinhof and the ...

(1904–2003), ''Afrikanist'' and Nazi * Alexander Deichsel (born 1935), sociologist *

Hans Ehrenberg Hans Philipp Ehrenberg (; 4 June 1883 – 21 March 1958) was a German Jewish philosopher and theologian. One of the co-founders of the Confessing Church, he was forced to emigrate to England because of his Jewish ancestry and his opposition to ...

(1883–1958), theologian *

Michael Franz Michael Franz is an American computer scientist best known for his pioneering work on just-in-time compilation and optimisation and on artificial software diversity. He is a Chancellor's Professor of Computer Science in the Donald Bren School of ...

, computer scientist *

Heinrich Wilhelm von Gerstenberg Heinrich Wilhelm von Gerstenberg (3 January 1737 – 1 November 1823) was a German poet and critic. Gerstenberg was born in Tønder, Denmark. After attending school in Husum and at the Christianeum Hamburg, and studying law at the University o ...

(1737–1823), poet *

Robert Koldewey Robert Johann Koldewey (10 September 1855 – 4 February 1925) was a German archaeologist, famous for his in-depth excavation of the ancient city of Babylon in modern-day Iraq. He was born in Blankenburg am Harz in Germany, the duchy of Brunswick, ...

(1855–1925), architect and archaeologist *

Salomon Maimon Salomon Maimon (; ; lt, Salomonas Maimonas; he, שלמה בן יהושע מימון‎; 1753 – 22 November 1800) was a philosopher born of Lithuanian Jewish parentage in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, present-day Belarus. Some of his work w ...

(1753–1800), philosopher *

(1817–1903), classical scholar, Nobel laureate *

Friedrich Paulsen Friedrich Paulsen (; July 16, 1846 – August 14, 1908) was a German Neo-Kantian philosopher and educator. Biography He was born at Langenhorn (Schleswig) and educated at the Gymnasium Christianeum, the University of Erlangen, and the Universi ...

(1846–1908), philosopher *

Johannes Rehmke Johannes Rehmke (1 February 1848 – 23 December 1930) was a German philosopher and since 1885 professor at Greifswald University, later also provost of this university. He offered sharp criticisms of Immanuel Kant's approach to epistemology. In h ...

(1848–1930), philosopher * Solomon Steinheim (1789–1866), physician, poet and philosopher * Johannes Versmann (1820–1899), lawyer and politician *

Hermann Weyl Hermann Klaus Hugo Weyl, (; 9 November 1885 – 8 December 1955) was a German mathematician, theoretical physicist and philosopher. Although much of his working life was spent in Zürich, Switzerland, and then Princeton, New Jersey, he is assoc ...

(1885–1955), mathematician

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Altona, Hamburg Educational institutions established in 1738 Arne Jacobsen buildings Modernist architecture in Germany 1738 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire