300px, Postcard of the school The Wilhelmsgymnasium, originally the Königliches Wilhelms-Gymnasium, was a gymnasium in the

Tragheim Tragheim was a quarter of northern Königsberg, Germany. Its territory is now part of Kaliningrad, Russia. History Tragheim was first documented in 1299, but probably already existed as an Old Prussian farming village in 1255 when the Teutonic Kni ...

quarter of

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

History

The state-founded school was named after

William I William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087 ...

, German Emperor and King of Prussia. It opened with five classes on 15 October 1874Wiese, p. 152 at its original location on Altroßgärter Predigerstraße in Hinter-Roßgarten. Its first director, Karl Urban of

Roßlau Rosslau (in German orthography: Roßlau) was until 30 June 2007 a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, belonging to the district Anhalt-Zerbst. After a fusion with the town of Dessau it became eponym of the newly founded town of Dessau-Roßlau and a qua ...

,Gause, p. 717 led the effort to move the school to a new building near the Schlossteich in Hintertragheim,''Statistisches Jahrbuch'', entry 15 which was dedicated in 1879.Albinus, p. 339 The main building cost 240,500

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fi ...

, the gym cost 26,200 Mark, and the director's domicile cost 41,100 Mark. The Wilhelmsgymnasium's auditorium was decorated with

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

n-themed paintings by artists from Königsberg in 1889, including

Carl Steffeck Carl Constantin Heinrich Steffeck (4 April 1818, Berlin – 11 July 1890, Königsberg) was a German painter and graphic artist. He was especially well known for his paintings of horses and dogs. Life He was the son of a "gentleman of independ ...

, Emil Neide, and

Georg Knorr Theodor Georg Knorr (October 19, 1859 – April 15, 1911) was an engineer and entrepreneur on the field of railroad technology and founder of the company Knorr-Bremse. He is particularly remembered for his role in the development of the compr ...

. Steffeck created a cycle of paintings depicting

Prussian Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

history, starting with the entrance of Grand Master

Siegfried von Feuchtwangen Siegfried von Feuchtwangen (died 1311) was the 15th Grand Masters of the Teutonic Knights, Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, serving from 1303 to 1311. Von Feuchtwangen was born in Feuchtwangen in Middle Franconia, and was a relative of the ...

into Marienburg Castle. The Wilhelmsgymnasium contained busts by

Friedrich Reusch Johann Friedrich Reusch (5 September 1843, Siegen - 15 October 1906, Agrigento) was a German sculptor and art teacher. Biography He was born to a long-established family of craftsmen. His father was a master carpenter. Initially, he was going ...

of William I and Emil Grosse, who was the director from 1882 to 1903. Grosse was succeeded by Ernst Wilhelm Wagner from 1903 to 1922. Notable teachers included

Otto Portzehl Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', '' Odo'', '' Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded ...

, senior instructor from 1888 to 1905, and Hans Lullies, a geographer who also taught at the Handelshochschule. The school contained 22 teachers and 533 students in 1901 and 19 teachers and 352 students in 1936. Its most famous alumni were the mathematicians

David Hilbert David Hilbert (; ; 23 January 1862 – 14 February 1943) was a German mathematician, one of the most influential mathematicians of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Hilbert discovered and developed a broad range of fundamental ideas in many a ...

and

Jürgen Moser Jürgen Kurt Moser (July 4, 1928 – December 17, 1999) was a German-American mathematician, honored for work spanning over four decades, including Hamiltonian dynamical systems and partial differential equations. Life Moser's mother Ilse Strehl ...

, pianist

Alfred Reisenauer Alfred Reisenauer (1 November 1863 – 3 October 1907) was a German pianist, composer, and music educator. Biography Reisenauer was born in Königsberg. He was a pupil of Louis Köhler and Franz Liszt. As one of the most important piano teacher ...

, and politician

Friedrich von Berg Friedrich Wilhelm Bernhard von Berg, also von Berg-Markienen, (20 November 1866 – 9 March 1939) was a German politician and chairman of the ''Secret Civil Cabinet'' of Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1918. Biography Friedrich von Berg was born on his ...

. The building was destroyed in 1944 during the

bombing of Königsberg in World War II The bombing of Königsberg was a series of attacks made on the city of Königsberg in East Prussia during World War II. The Soviet Air Force had made several raids on the city since 1941. Extensive attacks carried out by RAF Bomber Command destro ...

Notes

References

* * * * * 1874 establishments in Germany 1944 disestablishments in Germany Buildings and structures in Germany destroyed during World War II Defunct schools in Germany Education in Königsberg Educational institutions established in 1874 Educational institutions disestablished in 1944 Former buildings and structures in Königsberg Gymnasiums in Germany {{Germany-hist-stub