The Classical Gymnasium ( hr, Klasična gimnazija) is a gymnasium

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

(similar to a grammar school in England and Wales) situated in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. It was founded by the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

in 1607. In its first year it had 260 students and it operated on the basis of the

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

programme "Ratio atque institutio studiorum societatis Jesu".

History

It was founded in 1607 by the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

, who had recently settled in the

Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg) The Kingdom of Croatia ( hr, Kraljevina Hrvatska; la, Regnum Croatiae; hu, Horvát Királyság, german: Königreich Kroatien) was part of the lands of the Habsburg monarchy from 1527, following the Election in Cetin, and the Austrian Empire fro ...

and Slavonia within the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

. The gymnasium began operation on the initiative of the

Zagreb City Council The City Assembly of the City of Zagreb is the lawmaking body of the Croatian capital of Zagreb. It consists of 47 members who were elected by universal suffrage and secret ballot at 2017 elections for a term of four years. The assembly meets at ...

, with the approval of the

Croatian Parliament The Croatian Parliament ( hr, Hrvatski sabor) or the Sabor is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Croatia. Under the terms of the Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the people and is vested with legislative power. The Sabor ...

(Sabor) and strong support of

Ban of Croatia Ban of Croatia ( hr, Hrvatski ban) was the title of local rulers or office holders and after 1102, viceroys of Croatia. From the earliest periods of the Croatian state, some provinces were ruled by bans as a ruler's representative (viceroy) an ...

Ivan Drašković Ivan II Drašković ( hu, Draskovich János; 1550 – 1613) was a Croatian nobleman and politician from the Drašković noble family. He was Ban of Croatia from 1595 to 1606. Biography He was born as a son of Gašpar Drašković, from who he inh ...

. Jesuit Ivan Žanić became its first rector, with 260 students enrolling in its first year. The gymnasium official opened on June 3, 1607, in a ceremony attended by

Bishop of Zagreb The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Zagreb ( hr, Zagrebačka nadbiskupija, la, Archidioecesis Zagrebiensis) is the central archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Croatia, centered in the capital city Zagreb. It is the metropolitan see of Croatia, a ...

Šimun Bratulić, ban Ivan Drašković and others. On the day of the opening ceremony, a

Latin Language Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, 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 ...

drama "Actio comica" was staged, in which the young actors celebrated the beauties of their homeland, with the tradition being kep continuously to this day. The philosophy department was established in 1662, and opened on 3 November. The department was given university privileges by

Emperor Leopold 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 ...

in Ebersdorf on 23 October 1669, which saw the founding of the

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb ( hr, Sveučilište u Zagrebu, ; la, Universitas Studiorum Zagrabiensis) is the largest Croatian university and the oldest continuously operating university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of ...

WWII
Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croats, Croatian Fascism, fascist and ultranationalism, ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaš ...
transit camp for Jews

In August 1942, the Zagreb police of the Croatian fascist, ultranationalist

Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croats, Croatian Fascism, fascist and ultranationalism, ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaš ...

regime arrested 1,200 Jews and held them in the Classical Gymnasium which was them empty because of Summer holidays. Some of the Jews tried to commit suicide in the school. The

later took them to the Main Zagreb Railway Station, from where they were shipped to the

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

Damage during the war in the 90s

The school's back yard was hit by an Orkan rocket on 2 May 1995 during the rocket attack on Zagreb in the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between Croat forces loyal to the Government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY)—and the Serb-controlled Yugosl ...

. The attack was noted in the trial judgement in the Martic case at the ICTY.Prosecutor v. Milan Martić Judgment, paragraph 305
/ref> The attack occurred during class-time which prevented many casualties which would have occurred had it been break-time, during which students roam the back yard on warm May days. The damage was soon repaired.

Programme

The program, lasting four years, is based on combining

classical education Classical education may refer to: *''Modern'', educational practices and educational movements: **An education in the Classics, especially in Ancient Greek and Latin **Classical education movement, based on the trivium (grammar, logic, rhetoric) an ...

, with emphasis on

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...

(namely languages including Latin and Ancient Greek, philosophy, literature, history, fine arts, music and theatre), with sciences and extracurricular activities. Pupils study five languages:

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 ...

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 ...

, Croatian, English and one additional foreign language. They also study Croatian and

World Literature World literature is used to refer to the total of the world's national literature and the circulation of works into the wider world beyond their country of origin. In the past, it primarily referred to the masterpieces of Western European lit ...

, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geography, IT, History,

Fine Arts In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...

, Music, Philosophy, Logic, Politics and Economy, Sociology, Psychology and attend exercise classes. Most of these subjects are taught for 4 years. Pupils are free to choose additional subjects on top of the compulsory ones, such as Religious studies, Ethics, and additional foreign languages. The school has additional classes on alternate Saturdays. Pupils take on extra-curricular activities including ancient drama, choir singing, pottery, educational travel, and public speaking. The school's drama group stage one classic ancient play each year which usually premières in a Zagreb theatre. Zagrebgymnasiumcelebration

Although originally following a Christian educational model, today's school is a completely secular institution comparable to English grammar schools. During the

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

Yugoslav regime, in 1977 the name "gymnasium" was banned and the school became the Educational Language Center, but it preserved its spirit and the classical programme (including tuition of Latin and Ancient Greek languages).

400th anniversary

During the 2006/2007 school year, the school celebrated its 400th anniversary with educational, historical, and entertaining festivities which include symposia and speeches, charity rock concerts, three Greek plays and open days.

Notable students

17th century

Fran Krsto Frankopan Fran Krsto Frankopan ( hu, Frangepán Ferenc Kristóf; 4 March 1643 – 30 April 1671) was a Croatian baroque poet, nobleman and politician. He is remembered primarily for his involvement in the failed Zrinski-Frankopan conspiracy. He was a C ...

Juraj Habdelić Juraj Habdelić (17 April or 27 November 1609 – 27 November 1678) was a Croatian lexicographer, writer and Jesuit priest. Born in Staro Čiče, his parents were Boldižar Habdelić and Margarita Kraljić. He went to gymnasium in Zagreb, studied ...

Pavao Ritter Vitezović Pavao Ritter Vitezović (; 7 January 1652 – 20 January 1713) was a Habsburg-Croatian polymath, variously described as a historian, linguist, publisher, poet, political theorist, diplomat, printmaker, draughtsman, cartographer, writer and print ...

Ivan III Drašković Ivan III Drašković ( en, John III Drashkovich of Trakoshtyan; hu, trakostyáni gróf Draskovich János, ( Trakošćan, 13 March 1595(?) or 1603 – Óvár (Kingdom of Hungary), 5 August 1648), was a Croato- Hungarian warrior and statesman, a m ...

Petar Petretić Petar Petretić (1604 – 12 October 1667) was a historian, linguist, and Catholic bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Zagreb (1648–1667). Activities related to Serbs With accentuated hatred Petretić (and Benedikt Vinković) wrote num ...

Ivan Zakmardi Ivan Zakmardi (c. 1600 - 20 April 1667) was a Croatian humanist, lawyer and poet, who served as the prothonotary of the Habsburg Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia in 1644, and was the representative of both the King and Ban of Croatia in legal matters. H ...

18th century

* Ivan Franjo Čikulin *

Baltazar Adam Krčelić Baltazar Adam Krčelić (5 February 1715 – 29 March 1778) was a Croatian historian, theologian and lawyer. After Vitezović, he was the most prominent figure in the Croatian cultural life of the time. Biography He was born in Šenkovec near Za ...

Mihalj Šilobod Bolšić Mihalj Šilobod Bolšić (1 November 1724 – 4 April 1787) was a Croatian Roman Catholic priest, mathematician, writer, and musical theorist primarily known for writing the first Croatian arithmetics textbook '' Arithmetika Horvatzka'' (publishe ...

Tituš Brezovački Tituš Brezovački (January 4, 1757 – October 29, 1805) was a Croatian playwright, satirist and poet. Brezovački, as the great comedian of the period, wrote all of his dramatic works in Kajkavian dialect. His poems were chiefly written in Ger ...

19th century

Dimitrija Demeter Dimitrios Dimitriou ( gr, Δημήτριος Δημητρίου, sometimes spelled Dimitrija Demeter or Dimitrije Demeter; 21 July 1811 – 24 June 1872) was a Greek Croatian poet, dramatist, short story writer and literary critic. One of the ...

August Šenoa August Ivan Nepomuk Eduard Šenoa (; originally Schönoa; 14 November 1838 – 13 December 1881) was a Croatian novelist. Born to an ethnic German and Slovak family, Šenoa became a key figure in the development of an independent literary tradi ...

Janko Drašković Janko Drašković ( Hungarian: ''Draskovich János''; 20 October 1770 – 14 January 1856) was a Croatian politician associated with the beginnings of the 19th-century national revival, the Illyrian movement. He studied law and philosophy befor ...

Ante Starčević Ante Starčević (; 23 May 1823 – 28 February 1896) was a Croatian politician and writer. His policies centered around Croatian state law, the integrity of Croatian lands, and the right of his people to self-determination. As an important memb ...

Vatroslav Jagić Vatroslav Jagić (; July 6, 1838 – August 5, 1923) was a Croatian scholar of Slavic studies in the second half of the 19th century. Life Jagić was born in Varaždin (then known by its German name of ''Warasdin''), where he attended the elem ...

Vatroslav Lisinski Vatroslav Lisinski (, 8 July 1819 – 31 May 1854) was a Croatian composer. Lisinski was born Ignatius Fuchs to a German Jewish family. He would later change his name to Vatroslav Lisinski, which is a Croatian calque of his original name. For a t ...

Ivo Vojnović Ivo Vojnović (9 October 1857 – 30 August 1929) was a writer from Dubrovnik. Biography Vojnović was born in Dubrovnik as the first son of Count Konstantin Vojnović (1832–1903) and Maria de Serragli (1836–1922) on 9 October 1857 in Du ...

20th century

Stjepan Radić Stjepan Radić (11 June 1871 – 8 August 1928) was a Croat politician and founder of the Croatian People's Peasant Party (HPSS), active in Austria-Hungary and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. He is credited with galvanizing Cro ...

Miroslav Krleža Miroslav Krleža (; 7 July 1893 – 29 December 1981) was a Yugoslav and Croatian writer who is widely considered to be the greatest Croatian writer of the 20th century. He wrote notable works in all the literary genres, including poetry (''Ba ...

Antun Gustav Matoš Antun Gustav Matoš (; 13 June 1873 – 17 March 1914) was a Croatian poet, short story writer, journalist, essayist and travelogue writer. He is considered the champion of Croatian modernist literature, opening Croatia to the currents of E ...

Notable professors

Maksimilijan Vrhovac Maksimilijan Vrhovac (23 November 1752 in Karlovac – 16 December 1827 in Zagreb) was the bishop of Zagreb. He was one of the ideological architects of the Croatian national revival, and is notable for founding the Maksimir Park in 1787, one of th ...

Matija Petar Katančić Matija Petar Katančić ( la, Mathias Petrus Katancsich; 1750–1825) was a Croatian writer, professor of aesthetics and archaeology, lexicographer, and numismatist. Biography As a bootmaker's son from Valpovo, he received his initial education ...

Sources

Povijest

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gymnasium, Classical Educational institutions established in the 1600s Schools in Croatia Education in Zagreb Donji grad, Zagreb Gymnasiums in Croatia