Liepāja Nicolai Gymnasium was a six-year (later seven) gymnasium (high school) in Liepāja (Libau),

Courland Governorate The Courland Governorate, also known as the Province of Courland, Governorate of Kurland (german: Kurländisches Gouvernement; russian: Курля́ндская губерния, translit=Kurljándskaja gubernija; lv, Kurzemes guberņa; lt, K ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. It was established in 1865 on the basis of a school that traced its roots to 1848.Nikolaja ģimnāzija – atskatoties uz dibināšanas 150. jubileju
/ref> The school was named in honor of

Nicholas Alexandrovich, Tsesarevich of Russia Nicholas Alexandrovich (russian: Николай Александрович; – ) was tsesarevich—the heir apparent—of Imperial Russia from 2 March 1855 until his death in 1865. Early life Grand Duke Nicholas was born on 1843, in ...

. The school building was constructed in 1883–1885 by architect

Paul Max Bertschy Paul Max Bertschy ( lv, Pauls Makss Berči; 1 January 18401 February 1911) was a Baltic German architect, working mainly in what is now Latvia. He was city architect of Liepāja for more than 30 years and designed numerous both public and private ...

.Liepājas Valsts tehnikums, dibināts 1920. gadā
/ref> The school was diverse in students' religious and ethnic background. For example, in 1884, out of 398 pupils, 161 were Evangelical Lutherans (41.2%), 130 Jews (33.3%), 76 Catholics (19.4%) and 22 Eastern Orthodoxs (5.6%). The curriculum devoted substantial attention to the

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

Greek language Greek ( el, label=Modern Greek, Ελληνικά, Elliniká, ; grc, Ἑλληνική, Hellēnikḗ) is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece, Cyprus, southern Italy (Calabria and Salento), southern Al ...

s. The language of instruction was switched from German to Russian in 1887. The school continued to function until its evacuation to

Petrograd 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 ...

during

World War I 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 ...

(1915).

Principals

School principals were: *Karl Lessevs (Carl Lessew, 1865–1869) *Nikolai Lenstrēms (Nicolai Lenström, 1870–1883) *Albert Volgemuts (Albert Wohlgemuth, 1883–1905) *Nicolai Papilov (1905–1908)

Prominent students

Many prominent Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, and German people studied at the gymnasium, including: * Leonas Bistras, Prime Minister of Lithuania *

Balys Dvarionas Balys Dvarionas ( in Liepāja — 23 August 1972 in Vilnius), was a Soviet and Lithuanian composer, pianist, conductor and educator. Dvarionas first became known as a composer after World War II. His works are in a romantic vein, with roots in f ...

, Lithuanian composer *

Oswald Külpe Oswald Külpe (; 3 August 1862 – 30 December 1915) was a German structural psychologist of the late 19th and early 20th century. Külpe, who is lesser known than his German mentor, Wilhelm Wundt, revolutionized experimental psychology at his ti ...

, German psychologist * Gabriel Narutowicz, President of Poland *

Stanisław Narutowicz Stanisław Narutowicz ( lt, Stanislovas Narutavičius ) (2 September 1862, Telšiai District Municipality, Brewiki, Kovno Governorate – 31 December 1932, Kaunas, Lithuania) was a lawyer and politician, Signatories of the Act of Independence of L ...

, Signatory of the Act of Independence of Lithuania *

Issai Schur Issai Schur (10 January 1875 – 10 January 1941) was a Russian mathematician who worked in Germany for most of his life. He studied at the University of Berlin. He obtained his doctorate in 1901, became lecturer in 1903 and, after a stay at the ...

, Jewish mathematician * Salomėja Stakauskaitė, one of the first group of women parliamentarians in Lithuania * Konstanty Skirmunt, Polish diplomat and Minister of Foreign Affairs * Aleksandras Stulginskis, President of Lithuania *

Juozas Tūbelis Juozas Tūbelis (9 April 1882 in Ilgalaukis, Kovno Governorate – 30 September 1939, Kaunas) was a Lithuanian politician, Prime Minister and member and chairman of the Lithuanian Nationalists Union. In 1908, he graduated from Polytechnical In ...

, Prime Minister of Lithuania *

Antanas Vienuolis Antanas Vienuolis (born Antanas Žukauskas; 7 April 1882 — 17 August 1957) was a Soviet and Lithuanian writer, dramatist and one of the most famous realistic prosaists. Biography Vienuolis was born on April 7, 1882, in Ažuožeriai, Anyk ...

, Lithuanian writer * Max Weinreich, Jewish linguist

References

Liepāja Schools in Latvia Educational institutions established in 1865 1865 establishments in the Russian Empire Educational institutions disestablished in 1915 {{Latvia-school-stub