The Akademie Rudolph-Antoniana was an early modern Ritterakademie sited in

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; nds, Wulfenbüddel) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District. It is best known as the location of the internationally renowned Herzog August Library and for having the largest c ...

in what was then the

Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg The Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg (german: Herzogtum Braunschweig und Lüneburg), or more properly the Duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg, was a historical duchy that existed from the late Middle Ages to the Late Modern era within the Holy Roman ...

in Germany. It was founded on 18 July 1687 by Rudolph Augustus and Anthony Ulrich, brothers and co-dukes of the Duchy. It was housed in the Kleines Schloss in Wolfenbüttel (at what is now Schloßplatz Nr. 14), right next to the

Schloss Wolfenbüttel Schloss Wolfenbüttel is a castle in Wolfenbüttel, Lower Saxony, Germany. An extensive four-wing complex, it originated as a moated castle (''Wasserburg''). It is the second-largest surviving ''schloss'' in Lower Saxony and served as the main r ...

and its

Herzog August Library The Herzog August Library (german: link=no, Herzog August Bibliothek — "HAB"), in Wolfenbüttel, Lower Saxony, known also as ''Bibliotheca Augusta'', is a library of international importance for its collection from the Middle Ages and ear ...

, meaning students could borrow books from there but also get to know court-life, such as operas, plays and hunting in the Harz and Elm. Over the course of its twenty-eight-year existence it had 331 pupils, all lords, who had their coats of arms inscribed in its register. These included Peter Friedrich Arpe, Karl Friedrich Hieronymus Freiherr von Münchhausen (basis for the character Baron Münchhausen) and

Anton Wilhelm Amo Anton Wilhelm Amo or Anthony William Amo (c. 1703 – c. 1759) was an African philosopher originally from what is now Ghana. Amo was a professor at the universities of Halle and Jena in Germany after studying there. He was brought to Germany by ...

(pupil 1717-1721; the first known German philosopher and legal scholar of African origin). They came not only from the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg itself, but from other German states and even from other countries, with the latter coming to the academy to learn German. Pupils were also taught theology, law, history, mathematics, mechanics, Latin, Italian, French, riding, shooting, fencing and dancing. Optional subjects included English and Spanish.

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm (von) Leibniz . ( – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat. He is one of the most prominent figures in both the history of philosophy and the history of mathema ...

praised its professors' high qualifications. They included the mathematicians and architects Johann Balthasar Lauterbach (1663−1694) and

Leonhard Christoph Sturm Leonhard may refer to: *Leonhard Euler (1707–1783), Swiss mathematician and physicist *Leonhard Hutter (1563–1616), German theologian *Karl Leonhard (1904–1988), German psychiatrist *Jim Leonhard (1982– ), American football safety *LEONHAR ...

(1669−1719; taught 1694-1702). R. Fürst, W. Kelsch: ''Lauterbach und Sturm an der Ritterakademie''. In: ''Wolfenbüttel: Bürger einer fürstlichen Residenz; fünfzig biographische Porträts'', Grenzland-Verlag Rock 1982. The academy finally closed in 1715.

References

Bibliography

* Alfred Kuhlenkamp: ''Die Ritterakademie Rudolf-Antoniana in Wolfenbüttel 1687–1715'' (= ''Beiträge zur Geschichte der Carolo-Wilhelmina.'' Band 3). Braunschweigischer Hochschulbund, Braunschweig 1975. * Joseph König: ''Beiträge zur Geschichte der Stadt Wolfenbüttel. Aus Anlaß der 400jährigen Wiederkehr der Verleihung von Marktrecht und Wappen im Auftrage der Stadt Wolfenbüttel''. Selbstverlag der Stadt, Wolfenbüttel 1970. category:Schools in Lower Saxony category:Defunct schools in Germany Buildings and structures in Wolfenbüttel Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Organizations established in 1687 Educational institutions established in the 1680s 1687 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire category:1715 disestablishments {{coord, 52, 9, 43, N, 10, 31, 49, E, region:DE-NI_type:landmark, display=title