The Französisches Gymnasium (french: Lycée français de Berlin) is a long-existing francophone gymnasium in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

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 ...

. Traditionally, it is widely regarded as an elite high school. It is also the oldest public school in Berlin. Its creation was ordered by

Frederick William of Brandenburg Frederick William (german: Friedrich Wilhelm; 16 February 1620 – 29 April 1688) was Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia, thus ruler of Brandenburg-Prussia, from 1640 until his death in 1688. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he is ...

History

It was founded in 1689 by Frederick William's son Elector Frederick III of Brandenburg for the children of the

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

families who had settled in Brandenburg-Prussia by his invitation, being persecuted for their

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

beliefs in the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Kingdom of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

after the

Revocation of the Edict of Nantes The Edict of Fontainebleau (22 October 1685) was an edict issued by French King Louis XIV and is also known as the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The Edict of Nantes (1598) had granted Huguenots the right to practice their religion without s ...

by King

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ver ...

in October 1685. Its first headmaster was the French jurist Charles Ancillon from

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...

Since its foundation, the school has had an almost continuous history, occupying several buildings in Berlin. In the beginning, the faculty comprised Huguenot refugees only and the language of education was French. The school soon was attended also by numerous

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

children of

school fee Tuition payments, usually known as tuition in American English and as tuition fees in Commonwealth English, are fees charged by education institutions for instruction or other services. Besides public spending (by governments and other public bo ...

paying

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 ...

nobles and officials, and developed into an elite school. In the course of the

Prussian reforms The Prussian Reform Movement was a series of constitutional, administrative, social and economic reforms early in nineteenth-century Prussia. They are sometimes known as the Stein-Hardenberg Reforms, for Karl Freiherr vom Stein and Karl August ...

, the Collège Français became a common public school in 1809. In view of the growing numbers of pupils, it moved into a larger building built on Reichstagsufer in the

Dorotheenstadt is a historic zone or neighbourhood (''Stadtviertel'') of central Berlin, Germany, which forms part of the locality (''Ortsteil'') of Mitte within the borough (''Bezirk'') also called Mitte. It contains several famous Berlin landmarks: the B ...

quarter in 1873. The school was attended by an above-average number of Jewish pupils, who under the

Nazi regime Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

— like Jewish teachers — were harassed and finally excluded in 1938. However, despite all

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

efforts, the French language remained the medium of teaching. After 1943 the school was evacuated from Berlin and the historic school building on Reichstagsufer was destroyed in 1945.History
After the war, the school moved to the

Wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

district in the French sector of what was to become

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

. In 1952 the Französisches Gymnasium — Collège Français Berlin was re-established by merging the traditional Huguenot school with the Berlin collège of the French Armed Forces. Several of its pupils (though not all graduated) became prominent in later life, among them the poet Adalbert von Chamisso, the authors

Maximilian Harden __NOTOC__ Maximilian Harden (born Felix Ernst Witkowski, 20 October 1861 – 30 October 1927) was an influential German journalist and editor. Biography Born the son of a Jewish merchant in Berlin he attended the '' Französisches Gymnasium'' u ...

and

Kurt Tucholsky Kurt Tucholsky (; 9 January 1890 – 21 December 1935) was a German journalist, satirist, and writer. He also wrote under the pseudonyms Kaspar Hauser (after the historical figure), Peter Panter, Theobald Tiger and Ignaz Wrobel. Tucholsky was on ...

, the engineer

Walter Dornberger Major-General Dr. Walter Robert Dornberger (6 September 1895 – 26 June 1980) was a German Army artillery officer whose career spanned World War I and World War II. He was a leader of Nazi Germany's V-2 rocket programme and other projects a ...

and the resistance fighter

Adam von Trott zu Solz Friedrich Adam von Trott zu Solz (9 August 1909 – 26 August 1944) was a German lawyer and diplomat who was involved in the conservative resistance to Nazism. A declared opponent of the Nazi regime from the beginning, he actively participated in ...

, the songwriters

Reinhard Mey Reinhard Friedrich Michael Mey (born 21 December 1942) is a German "Liedermacher" (literally "songmaker", a German-style singer-songwriter). In France he is known as ''Frédérik Mey''. By 2009, Mey had released 27 German albums, and generally ...

and Ulrich Roski, as well as political scientist

Gesine Schwan Gesine Schwan (née ''Schneider'', 22 May 1943) is a German political science professor and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany. The party has nominated her twice as a candidate for the federal presidential elections. On 23 May 2004, ...

, the presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party of Germany in 2009.

Today

The school moved to its current building, in Berlin-Tiergarten, on Derfflingerstraße, not far from

Nollendorfplatz Nollendorfplatz (colloquially called ''Nolle'' or ''Nolli'') is a square in the central Schöneberg district of Berlin, Germany. History The place was named on 27 November 1864 after the village of ''Nollendorf'' ( cs, Nakléřov) near Petrovi ...

in 1972, after it had been located in Berlin-

Reinickendorf Reinickendorf () is the twelfth borough of Berlin. It encompasses the northwest of the city area, including the Berlin Tegel Airport, Lake Tegel, spacious settlements of detached houses as well as housing estates like Märkisches Viertel. Subdi ...

. It educates both

- and French-speaking pupils from francophone countries all over the world. Grades are from 5 to 12, with bilingual classes and teaching starting in grade 7. Other languages that are taught are

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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 ...

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

. Pupils can graduate with either of two diplomas though many Germans pass both: the Abitur (German high school diploma) and the Baccalauréat (French high school diploma). Franzoesisches Gymnasium Berlin alter Standort

Franzoesisches Gymnasium Berlin alter Standort

Notable people

Faculty and staff

* Charles Ancillon (1659–1715), jurist and diplomat *

Paul Erman Paul Erman (29 February 1764 – 11 October 1851) was a German physicist from Berlin, Brandenburg and a Huguenot of the fourth generation. He was the son of the historian Jean Pierre Erman (1735–1814), author of ''Histoire des réfugiés'' ...

(1764–1851), physicist *

Georg Adolf Erman Georg Adolf Erman (12 May 1806 – 12 July 1877) was a German physicist. Erman was born in Berlin as the son of Paul Erman. He studied natural science at the universities of Berlin and Königsberg, spent from 1828 to 1830 in a journey round ...

(1806–1877), physicist *

Ernst Curtius Ernst Curtius (; 2 September 181411 July 1896) was a German archaeologist, historian and museum director. Biography He was born in Lübeck. On completing his university studies he was chosen by C. A. Brandis to accompany him on a journey to ...

(1814–1896), archaeologist and historian * Alfred Clebsch (1833–1872), mathematician * Hermann Wilhelm Ebel (1820–1875), philologist * Karl Ploetz (1819–1881), author

Alumni

* Johann Heinrich Samuel Formey (1711–1797), essayist and philosopher *

Louis de Beausobre Louis Isaac de Beausobre (19 August 1730 – 3 December 1783) was a German philosopher and political economist of French Huguenot descent. He was born in Berlin, the son of the French Protestant churchman and ecclesiastical historian Isaac de Beau ...

(1730–1783), philosopher and political economist * Ludwig Robert (1778–1832), writer *

Adelbert von Chamisso Adelbert von Chamisso (; 30 January 178121 August 1838) was a German poet and botanist, author of ''Peter Schlemihl'', a famous story about a man who sold his shadow. He was commonly known in French as Adelbert de Chamisso (or Chamissot) de Bonc ...

(1781–1838), poet and botanist * Franz von Gaudy (1800–1840), poet and novelist *

Karl Ludwig Michelet Karl Ludwig Michelet (4 December 1801 – 15 December 1893)
was a German Heinrich Girard (1814–1878), mineralist and geologist *

Emil du Bois-Reymond Emil Heinrich du Bois-Reymond (7 November 181826 December 1896) was a German physician and physiologist, the co-discoverer of nerve action potential, and the developer of experimental electrophysiology. Life Du Bois-Reymond was born in Berlin a ...

(1818–1896), physician and physiologist * Carl Bolle (1821–1909), naturalist and collector *

Max von Brandt Maximilian August Scipio von Brandt (born 8 October 1835 in Berlin; died 24 August 1920 in Weimar) was a German diplomat, East Asia expert and publicist. Biography Max von Brandt was the son of Prussian general and military author Heinrich von ...

(1835–1920), diplomat, East Asia expert and publicist * Petre P. Carp (1837–1919), politician and culture critic * Gustav Mützel (1839–1893), artist *

Paul Güssfeldt Dr Paul Güssfeldt (spelled Güßfeldt in German) (14 October 1840 – 18 January 1920) was a German geologist, mountaineer and explorer. Biography Güssfeldt was born in Berlin, where he also died almost 80 years later. After attending the C ...

(1840–1920), geologist, mountaineer and explorer *

Alfred Woltmann Alfred Woltmann (18 May 1841 – 6 February 1880) was a German art historian. He was born at Charlottenburg, studied at Berlin and Munich, and was appointed professor of art history successively at the Karlsruhe Polytechnicum (1868) and at the un ...

(1841–1880), art historian * Ernst von Wildenbruch (1845–1909), poet and dramatist *

Albert Moritz Wolff :''not to be confused with Albert Wolff (1814–1892).'' Albert Moritz Wolff (15 June 1854, Berlin – 23 August 1923, Lüneburg Lüneburg (officially the ''Hanseatic City of Lüneburg'', German: ''Hansestadt Lüneburg'', , Low German ...

(1854–1923), sculptor *

Adolf Erman Johann Peter Adolf Erman (; 31 October 185426 June 1937) was a renowned German Egyptologist and lexicographer. Life Born in Berlin, he was the son of Georg Adolf Erman and grandson of Paul Erman and Friedrich Bessel. Educated at Leipzig and ...

(1854–1937), Egyptologist * Richard Witting (1856–1923), politician and financier *

(1861–1927), journalist and editor *

Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck (20 March 1870 – 9 March 1964), also called the Lion of Africa (german: Löwe von Afrika), was a general in the Imperial German Army and the commander of its forces in the German East Africa campaign. For four ye ...

(1870–1964), general *

Adolf Otto Reinhold Windaus Adolf Otto Reinhold Windaus (; 25 December 1876 – 9 June 1959) was a German chemist who won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1928 for his work on sterols and their relation to vitamins. He was the doctoral advisor of Adolf Butenandt who also won ...

(1876–1959), chemist, Nobel laureate *

Edmund Landau Edmund Georg Hermann Landau (14 February 1877 – 19 February 1938) was a German mathematician who worked in the fields of number theory and complex analysis. Biography Edmund Landau was born to a Jewish family in Berlin. His father was Leopol ...

(1877–1938), mathematician *

Victor Klemperer Victor Klemperer (9 October 188111 February 1960) was a German scholar who also became known as a diarist. His journals, published in Germany in 1995, detailed his life under the German Empire, the Weimar Republic, the Third Reich, and the Germa ...

(1881–1960), journalist and literary scholar *

Walther von Brauchitsch Walther Heinrich Alfred Hermann von Brauchitsch (4 October 1881 – 18 October 1948) was a German field marshal and the Commander-in-Chief (''Oberbefehlshaber'') of the German Army during World War II. Born into an aristocratic military family, ...

(1881–1948), field marshal *

Leonard Nelson Leonard Nelson (; ; 11 July 1882 – 29 October 1927), sometimes spelt Leonhard, was a German mathematician, critical philosopher, and socialist. He was part of the neo-Friesian school (named after post-Kantian philosopher Jakob Friedrich Fr ...

(1882–1927), mathematician and philosopher *

(1890–1935), journalist and writer *

Erich Auerbach Erich Auerbach (November 9, 1892 – October 13, 1957) was a German philologist and comparative scholar and critic of literature. His best-known work is '' Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature'', a history of repres ...

(1892–1957), philologist and literary scholar *

(1909–1944), lawyer, diplomat and resistance fighter * Joachim Werner (1909–1994), archaeologist *

Wernher von Braun Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun ( , ; 23 March 191216 June 1977) was a German and American aerospace engineer and space architect. He was a member of the Nazi Party and Allgemeine SS, as well as the leading figure in the develop ...

(1912–1977), rocket scientist *

Gottfried Reinhardt Gottfried Reinhardt (20 March 1913 – 19 July 1994) was an Austrian-born American film director and producer. Biography Reinhardt was born in Berlin, the son of the Austrian theater director Max Reinhardt (until 1904: Max Goldmann), manage ...

(1913–1994), film producer and director * Albert O. Hirschman (1915-2012), economist * Klemens von Klemperer (1916-2012), historian *

Ken Adam Sir Kenneth Adam (born Klaus Hugo George Fritz Adam; 5 February 1921 – 10 March 2016) was a German-British movie production designer, best known for his set designs for the James Bond films of the 1960s and 1970s, as well as for ''Dr. Stran ...

(born 1921), film designer * John Leonard Clive (1924–1990), historian * Wolfgang Gewalt (1928–2007), zoologist *

(born 1942), singer-songwriter *

(born 1943), political science professor * Ulrich Roski (1944–2003), singer-songwriter * Dominique Horwitz (born 1957), actor and singer *

Christian Berkel Christian Berkel (born 28 October 1957) is a German actor. He is known for his appearances in '' Downfall'' (2004), ''Valkyrie'' (2008), ''Inglourious Basterds'' (2009) and ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' (2015). Life and career Berkel was born on 2 ...

(born 1957), actor * Peter Fox (born 1971), musician *

Alexandra Maria Lara Alexandra Maria Lara (''née'' Plătăreanu; 12 November 1978) is a Romanian-German actress who has appeared in '' Downfall'' (2004), ''Control'' (2007), '' Youth Without Youth'' (2007), ''The Reader'' (2008), '' Rush'' (2013), and ''Geostorm' ...

(born 1978), actress

References

External links

*
Französisches Gymnasium Berlin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Franzosisches Gymnasium Berlin 1689 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire Educational institutions established in the 1680s International schools in Berlin French international schools in Germany Huguenot history in Germany