Katedralskolan (Lund Cathedral School) is a school in
Lund
Lund (, , ) is a city in the southern Swedish provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, across the Øresund, Öresund strait from Copenhagen. The town had 91,940 inhabitants out of a municipal total of 121,510 . It is the seat of Lund Municipali ...
,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
. It was founded in 1085 by the Danish king
Canute the Saint. It is the oldest school in Scandinavia and one of the oldest schools in Northern Europe. Despite being a public school, admittance to the Lund Cathedral School requires an application, and it is considered one of the toughest schools to get accepted to in Lund.
History
The school was founded by a donation from the Danish king
Canute the Saint. In the beginning, it was most likely a
cathedral school, a seminary for the training of priests and other clergy within the church. Its clerical roots are also the origin of the school's name. During the
Scanian Wars and the transition to Swedish rule, the school was for a while reduced to an insignificant elementary school with just two classes. For the first 750 years of its existence, the school was located directly adjacent to the Cathedral in Lund. However, in 1837, the school acquired ''Viffertska gården'', which has been considered one of the most prestigious buildings in
Lund
Lund (, , ) is a city in the southern Swedish provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, across the Øresund, Öresund strait from Copenhagen. The town had 91,940 inhabitants out of a municipal total of 121,510 . It is the seat of Lund Municipali ...
since the 16th century. For two years at the beginning of the 18th century, the Swedish king
Charles XII had his residence there.
Despite many wars and several transitions between
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...
and
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
rule, the school has maintained some form of teaching continuously since it was founded in 1085.
Today
Today, the Cathedral School is an Upper Secondary School, or ''
gymnasium,'' with about 1400 students attending seven different programmes; the Science Programme ''(Naturvetenskapsprogrammet),'' the Social Science Programme ''(Samhällsvetenskapsprogrammet),'' the Lingua Programme ''(Linguaprogrammet),'' the History Programme ''(Historieprogrammet),'' the Humanist Programme ''(Humanistiska programmet),'' the Economy Programme ''(Ekonomiprogrammet)'' and the
IB Diploma Programme.
The History Programme started in 2009 as a part of a government decision to instate special programmes in theoretical subjects in selected schools in the country. It is the only History programme in Sweden.
The Cathedral School currently resides in six buildings; The main building, The Charles XII house, The Brunius house, The Svanegatshouse, Cathedral School West and the Svane School. Several currently well-known people have attended it, among whom are actor
Max von Sydow and several high-ranking politicians. Among the famous students are Swedish sport stars
Max Salminen and
Henrik Stenson
Henrik Olof Stenson (; born 5 April 1976) is a Swedish professional golfer.
He is the first male Swedish and first male Nordic major champion, having won the 2016 Open Championship at Royal Troon with a major championship record score of 264. ...
.
Student Societies
There are a number of Student Societies in the school, the two most venerable ones being the theatre association ''Scenia'' (a word game alluding to '
wikt:scene' and the Latin name of the province of Lund, ''Scania)'' and the photographic society Asarna (a similar word game alluding to
Norse mythology
Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period ...
and to the
ASA
ASA as an abbreviation or initialism may refer to:
Biology and medicine
* Accessible surface area of a biomolecule, accessible to a solvent
* Acetylsalicylic acid, aspirin
* Advanced surface ablation, refractive eye surgery
* Anterior spinal ar ...
standard for analogue photography).
Scenia was started in 1945 by a group of students, including the later famous actor
Max von Sydow. The drama group arranged and performed a variety of different Swedish plays and it became a tradition that passed on to younger students after graduation. Scenia was active throughout the 1950s but was then laid on ice until it was reborn as
Katterevyn in the 1980s, that today is considered a
Spex and is arranged every spring. About 150 students are involved in the process each year. In May 2008, "God Afton Vackra Mask" ("Good Evening, Beautiful Mask"), alluding to the murder of king Gustav III, was performed at
AF-borgen
AF Borgen, originally known as Akademiska Föreningens Stora Sal, is the house of The Academic Society in Lund, Sweden, constructed in 1848, situated opposite the University Main Building in Lundagård. AF Borgen houses a great hall, which has h ...
in
Lundagård.
In 2016, a team from the school became the first from Scandinavia to win a title (in the Varsity Bowl Division) in the
International History Bee and Bowl European Championships, which were held in Berlin that year.
References
*
External links
{{Commons category, Katedralskolan, Lund
School homepage
Buildings and structures in Lund
1085 establishments in Europe
Gymnasiums (school) in Sweden
International Baccalaureate schools in Sweden
Educational institutions established in the 11th century
11th-century establishments in Skåne County