Dresden_Kreuzschule_-_1869,_Helas_Bildnr

The ''Kreuzschule'' (German for "School of the Cross") in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth lar ...

(also known by its

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 ...

name, ''schola crucis'') is the oldest surviving school in Dresden and one of the oldest in Germany. As early as 1300, a schoolmaster (''Cunradus puerorum rector'') was mentioned. It was founded as a grammar school for the singers of the ''capella sanctae crucis'' (Latin for "Chapel of the Holy Cross"), now the

Dresdner Kreuzchor The Dresdner Kreuzchor is the boys' choir of the Kreuzkirche in Dresden, Germany. It has a seven-century history and a world-wide reputation. Today, the choir has about 150 members between the ages of 9 and 19, from Dresden and the surrounding ...

. The school is now a Protestant '' Gymnasium'', officially called the ''Evangelisches Kreuzgymnasium''.

History

Since its inception, the school has had close ties to the

Kreuzkirche The Dresden Kreuzkirche (Church of the Holy Cross) is a Lutheran church in Dresden, Germany. It is the main church and seat of the ''Landesbischof'' of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Saxony, and the largest church building in the Free State o ...

(Church of the Cross), formerly known as St. Nicholas Church, that dates at least to 1215. In the

Middle Ages 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 period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, to teach the children in

church choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

s, church schools proliferated. Schoolmasters were educators (particularly of theology), as well as music teachers. The school was first mentioned in a document of 6 April 1300. In 1388, the church was reconsecrated as ''ecclesia sanctae crucis'' (Holy Cross Church) in recognition of its

Reliquary A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', by the French term ''châsse'', and historically including '' phylacteries'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary may be called a ''fereter'', and a chapel in which it is housed a ''fer ...

, holding what was believed to be a piece of the True Cross. The first school building was erected adjacent to the church in 1393. The school followed the curriculum typical of medieval

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 ...

s, providing the choir boys preparation for university, as well as providing instruction about the natural world. The school converted to Protestantism after the

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

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 i ...

of the 16th century. For the next few centuries, the school underwent a slow decline, which, however, was reversed at the beginning of 19th century, with more than 400 students enrolled by the late 1820s.

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

was a pupil of the school for 5 years from the age of 9 to 14, enrolling in 1821. In 1866, a more spacious building was constructed at the Georgplatz, close to the Kreuzkirche. It was the first major building in the city to be built in Neogothic style, built after a controversy. This building burned down during the 1945 air raids on Dresden; it was demolished in 1950. The school was at this period moved to the building of the former

Masonic Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

Institute, in the Striesen district of Dresden. From 2007 to 2009, the building underwent a complete renovation; during that period, the school operated temporarily from the former Erich Wustmann High School in Dresden-Prohlis. Bishop Jochen Bohl officiated at the rededication of the new premises on 10 August 2009. At that time, 850 students were enrolled in the school, 145 of them singers of the ''Dresdner Kreuzchor''.

Notable students and other alumni

Literature

* Karlheinz Blaschke: ''Dresden, Kreuzkirche, Kreuzschule, Kreuzchor, Kruzianer - musikalische und humanistische Tradition in 775 Jahren.'' Gütersloh/München 1991,

References

External links

Evangelisches Kreuzgymnasium Dresden
Official website
Archiv der Kreuzschule und des Kreuzchores
Dresden

dresden-online.de
Evangelische Kreuzschule und Kreuzgymnasium Dresden
wikimapia.org * Richter, Willy

degener-verlag.com * {{coord, 51, 2, 50, N, 13, 48, 5, E, type:landmark, display=title Dresden Schools in Saxony Education in Dresden