The Hölderlin-Gymnasium is a general educational ''Gymnasium'' in

Lauffen am Neckar Lauffen am Neckar () or simply Lauffen is a town in the district of Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is on the river Neckar, southwest of Heilbronn. The town is famous as the birthplace of the poet Friedrich Hölderlin and for its qu ...

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

, Germany. The school is named after the Romantic poet

Friedrich Hölderlin Johann Christian Friedrich Hölderlin (, ; ; 20 March 1770 – 7 June 1843) was a German poet and philosopher. Described by Norbert von Hellingrath as "the most German of Germans", Hölderlin was a key figure of German Romanticism. Part ...

, a native of Lauffen. 20090215 Lauffen Lateinschule

History

The school can be traced back to 1491, when

Eberhard I, Duke of Württemberg Eberhard I of Württemberg (11 December 144524 February 1496) was known as Count ''Eberhard V'' from 1459 to 1495, and from July 1495 he was the first Duke of Württemberg. He is also known as ''Eberhard im Bart'' (Eberhard the Bearded). Ear ...

, established a ''Prädikatur''. Martin Larin is mentioned in 1506 as the first official schoolmaster; prior to that, the priest had held the office of teacher. When the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

reached Württemberg in the mid-16th century, the ''Prädikatur'' was merged with the

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 ...

, established by

Ulrich of Württemberg Ulrich (), is a German given name, derived from Old High German ''Uodalrich'', ''Odalric''. It is composed of the elements '' uodal-'' meaning "(noble) heritage" and ''-rich'' meaning "rich, powerful". Attested from the 8th century as the name of Al ...

, whose purpose was to educate the children of Württemberg officials and theologians. By 1520 17 students had enrolled at the universities of

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 ...

and

Tübingen Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in thr ...

, some of whom later served as pastors in Lauffen.Otfried Kies: Die Merowingerburg im Dorf – Keimzelle Lauffens. In: Heimatbuch der Stadt Lauffen am Neckar anläßlich des großen Stadtfests im Jahre 1984. Stadt Lauffen am Neckar, Lauffen am Neckar 1984, S. 103–118. From 1835, several Royal Decrees converted single-class Latin schools into secondary schools. In Lauffen, these decrees were implemented after the death of the preceptor Christoph Jakob Klunzinger, who had worked at the school since 1812. The aim of this transformation was "partly to promote the general civic education, partly to make pupils fit for the various civil professions".Tanja Blattner: Die erstrebte Umwandlung württembergischer Lateinschulen in Realschulen von 1835 bis 1848. V und R Unipress, Göttingen 2006, , S. 181 The transformation, however, met with opposition from some parents, and a group of 49 people expressed their opposition. After a minister was called in, an initial compromise was reached which envisioned the school as a ''

Realschule ''Realschule'' () is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola''), ...

'' that would also teach Latin. From 1838 a state grant of 200

gulden ''Gulden'' is the historical German and Dutch term for gold coin (from Middle High German "golden penny" and Middle Dutch " golden florin"), equivalent to the English term guilder. Gulden, Gülden, Guldens or Gulden's may also refer to: Coins o ...

was provided to fund the implementation of this compromise proposal, but in subsequent years it was the subject of continuous quarrels. Starting in 1848, the school operated as a Latin school again. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

the school consisted of two classes; 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 ...

it was designated an ''Oberschule'' and had four classes. In 1954 the school became the ''Hölderlin Progymnasium'' in the newly built school ''Hölderlinschule'' on ''Hölderlinstraße''. The ''Progymnasium'', the new ''Volksschule'', part of the ''Hölderlinschule'', and the ''Herzog-Ulrich-Volksschule'' shared staff until the organisational separation of the ''Herzog-Ulrich-Volksschule'' in 1962. In 1967 the school was converted into a full ''Gymnasium'', and in 1970 administered its 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 ...

'' examinations. In 1975 the ''Hölderlin-Gymnasium'' moved into a new complex in the western part of the city.

Sources

*Otfried Kies: Festschrift 500 Jahre Lateinschule und Hölderlin-Gymnasium Lauffen am Neckar. Zur Feier des 500. Geburtstags am 21. Juni 1991. 2 Auflage. Walter, Brackenheim-Hausen 1991 (mit Beiträgen von Kurt Eißele und Albert Gänßle). *Grundbeschreibung der Lateinschule Lauffen a. N.. angelegt um 1850, mit Nachträgen bis 1919 (Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, Signatur E 202 Bü 190). *Jürgen Reiner, Ulrich Böhner: Chronologie der Lauffener Schulgeschichte. In: Lauffener Heimatblätter. Heft 23, Heimatverein Gesellschaft Alt-Lauffen, Lauffen a. N. 2008.

References

External links

Official website of the Hölderlin-Gymnasium Lauffen am Neckar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holderlin-Gymnasium Lauffen am Neckar Schools in Baden-Württemberg Friedrich Hölderlin