{{Use dmy dates, date=May 2012
A rytterskole (English: ''rider school'' or '' cavalry school'') was a type of school erected in
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark
, establish ...
in the years 1721–1727 for the education of common children. The schools were located in 12 cavalry districts established in 1715–1718, during the
Great Nordic War
The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedis ...
, to reform and improve the cavalry in Denmark, from which the schools got their name. They were not military schools, as the name might suggest, but rather a predecessor to the Danish public schools founded in 1814.
The 12 districts were
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
Kronborg
Kronborg is a castle and stronghold in the town of Helsingør, Denmark. Immortalized as Elsinore in William Shakespeare's play ''Hamlet'', Kronborg is one of the most important Renaissance castles in Northern Europe and was inscribed on the UNE ...
,
Antvorskov
Antvorskov Monastery (Danish: ''Antvorskov Kloster'') was the principal Scandinavian monastery of the Catholic Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, located about one kilometer south of the town of Slagelse on Zealand, Denmark.
It served as the Scand ...
Vordingborg
Vordingborg () is an old ferry town in Vordingborg Municipality in Denmark with around 18,000 inhabitants. Because of three large estates surrounding the town, a coherent urban development has not been possible, which is the reason why three sat ...
,
Kolding
Kolding () is a Danish seaport located at the head of Kolding Fjord in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the seat of Kolding Municipality. It is a transportation, commercial, and manufacturing centre, and has numerous industrial companie ...
Skanderborg
Skanderborg is a town in Skanderborg municipality, Denmark. It is situated on the north and north eastern brinks of Skanderborg Lake and there are several smaller ponds and bodies of water within the city itself, like Lillesø, Sortesø, Døj S ...
Fyn
Funen ( da, Fyn, ), with an area of , is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as ...
. Each of these was meant to host 20 schools, making for 240 in all; however, some districts received more than 20 and some less, although the total still numbered 240. A 13th district was established on Møn in 1726, and a 241st school was built on
Bogø
Bogø () is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea, just west of Møn. The population is 1,200 (1 January 2022) with 951 living in the only town on the island, ''Bogø By''. The island is approximately 7 km long by 3 km wide at the largest ...