Gymnasium Petrinum is a state-funded secondary school and the oldest Gymnasium in the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

town of

Dorsten Dorsten (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Dössen'') is a town in the district of Recklinghausen (district), Recklinghausen in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and has a population of about 75,000. Dorsten is situated on the western rim of ...

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

History

The

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...

n town of Dorsten is host to Germany's oldest continuous cloister of the

Franciscan Order , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

, founded in 1488. Out of this cloister, Petrinum was established as a Latin school in 1642. Although the

Thirty Years’ War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

(1618–48) had badly derogated Dorsten's

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

wealth and status as a member of the

Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German to ...

of international trading cities, the town council mobilised support for the clerics’ efforts. In 1823 the Latin school became a ''Progymnasium'', meaning that a more encompassing list of subjects was taught. The last Franciscan headmaster died in 1837 and in 1898 the school was made a full Gymnasium. Petrinum subsequently moved to a new building in 1902 and in 1904 the first

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

exam was conducted at the school now officially named “Catholic Gymnasium (with compensatory education in Greek) at Dorsten”. During the

Occupation of the Ruhr The Occupation of the Ruhr (german: link=no, Ruhrbesetzung) was a period of military occupation of the Ruhr region of Germany by France and Belgium between 11 January 1923 and 25 August 1925. France and Belgium occupied the heavily industria ...

in 1923 the school building served as headquarters for

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

troops, which meant that teaching had to take place in another building. After heavy disruptions during 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 ...

, instruction returned to normal in 1948 although the school building still had to be shared with a

Volksschule The German term ''Volksschule'' generally refers to compulsory education, denoting an educational institution every person (i.e. the people, ''Volk'') is required to attend. In Germany and Switzerland it is equivalent to a combined primary (' ...

. Due to the continuing shortage of teaching rooms, the building was extended, completely overhauled and re-opened in 1963. In 1978 the first girls took the Abitur exam at the former boys' school and in 1982 Petrinum moved to a completely new building by the Wesel-Datteln Canal. The building was further extended by a new tract in 2003.

External links

Petrinum website (German)
{{Coord, 51, 39, 54, N, 6, 57, 48, E, region:DE-NW_type:edu, display=title Schools in North Rhine-Westphalia Gymnasiums in Germany Buildings and structures in Recklinghausen (district) Educational institutions established in the 1640s 1642 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire