The Carolinum (sometimes ''Prophezei'' or ''Prophezey'') is the predecessor educational institution of the theological faculty of the
University of Zürich
The University of Zurich (UZH, ) is a public university, public research university in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of the ...
, established in 1525. As building, it is part of the former
cloister
A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...
of the ''
Grossmünster
The Grossmünster (; "great minster") is a Romanesque-style Protestant church in Zürich, Switzerland. It is one of the four major churches in the city (the others being the Fraumünster, Predigerkirche, and St. Peterskirche). Its congregation ...
Chorherrenstift'' in
Zurich
Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
, Switzerland. Grossmünster and Carolinum (''Ehemalige Mädchenschule am Grossmünster'') are listed in the
as a Class A object.
History
An institutionalized academic education in
Zürich
Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
dates back to the medieval collegiate and city schools. In the late European Middle Ages, a ''Carolinum'' associated to the
Grossmünster
The Grossmünster (; "great minster") is a Romanesque-style Protestant church in Zürich, Switzerland. It is one of the four major churches in the city (the others being the Fraumünster, Predigerkirche, and St. Peterskirche). Its congregation ...
priory and its canons was mentioned. On occasion of the
Reformation in Zürich
The Reformation in Zürich was promoted initially by Huldrych Zwingli, who gained the support of the magistrates of the city of Zürich and the princess abbess Katharina von Zimmern of the Fraumünster Abbey, and the population of the city of Hist ...
, it even became an important rule for the training of prospective Protestant theologians. As other educational institutions, it is named after ''
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...
'' (''Carol'' or Swiss-German ''Karl'').
The reformer
Huldrich Zwingli initiated the transformation of the former Latin school ''Prophezey'' or ''Prophezei'' into a training center for reformed theologians, by a Zürich city's council mandate on 29 September 1523 AD; lessons started on 19 June 1525. The weekday lectures (''Lezgen'' or ''Lectiones'', literally: lessons) were free of charge for the interested people in urban and rural areas of the city republic of Zürich, by ''well-learned men''.
Heinrich Bullinger
Heinrich Bullinger (18 July 1504 – 17 September 1575) was a Swiss Reformer and theologian, the successor of Huldrych Zwingli as head of the Church of Zürich and a pastor at the Grossmünster. One of the most important leaders of the Swiss Re ...
's ''Schola Tigurina'' may have influenced the education in many other institutions beginning in 1559.
Bullinger's ''Schola Tigurina'' merged in the 18th century to the theological faculty and the upper secondary school in the then ''Carolinum'' been. The financing of the chairs respectively professorships was depending on the benefices of the secularized
''canons'' of the former ''Grossmünster'' priory. In addition to theological subjects and Classical languages, in 1541, the natural history department (
Conrad Gessner
Conrad Gessner (; ; 26 March 1516 – 13 December 1565) was a Swiss physician, naturalist, bibliographer, and philologist. Born into a poor family in Zürich, Switzerland, his father and teachers quickly realised his talents and supported him t ...
) and in 1731 a political science chair (
Johann Jakob Bodmer
Johann Jakob Bodmer (19 July 16982 January 1783) was a Swiss author, academic, critic and poet.
Life
Born at Greifensee, near Zürich, and first studying theology and then trying a commercial career, he finally found his vocation in letters. In ...
) was created, and in 1782 the surgical institute to train medical doctors.
After the abolition of the ''Chorherrenstift'' congregation in 1832, the building was sold to the Canton of Zürich. In 1849 the structures were widely demolished and replaced by Gustav Albert Wegmann's building. The ''Grossmünsterplatz'' schoolhouse of the girls' gymnasium (''Töchterschule'', as of today ''Kantonsschule Hohe Promenade''), an urban high school for girls, was established in 1875 and located in the building until 1976, when the Theological faculty of the University of Zürich moved in.
The present University of Zürich bases on the ''Carolinum'' and uses its former logo, the silhouette of the ''Grossmünster'' church. The university claims to be established in the tradition of the canons of the Carolinum's institutions.
Notable personalities
*
Theodor Bibliander, faculty
*
Johann Jakob Bodmer
Johann Jakob Bodmer (19 July 16982 January 1783) was a Swiss author, academic, critic and poet.
Life
Born at Greifensee, near Zürich, and first studying theology and then trying a commercial career, he finally found his vocation in letters. In ...
, faculty
*
Heinrich Bullinger
Heinrich Bullinger (18 July 1504 – 17 September 1575) was a Swiss Reformer and theologian, the successor of Huldrych Zwingli as head of the Church of Zürich and a pastor at the Grossmünster. One of the most important leaders of the Swiss Re ...
, faculty
*
Conrad Gessner
Conrad Gessner (; ; 26 March 1516 – 13 December 1565) was a Swiss physician, naturalist, bibliographer, and philologist. Born into a poor family in Zürich, Switzerland, his father and teachers quickly realised his talents and supported him t ...
, faculty
*
Konrad Pellikan
Konrad Pellikan (; ; sometimes anglicized as ''Conrad Pellican''; 8 January 1478 – 6 May 1556) was a German Protestant theologian, humanist, Protestant reformer and Christian Hebraist who worked chiefly in Switzerland.
Life
Pellikan w ...
, faculty
*
Josias Simmler
Josias Simmler (Josiah Simler; ) (6 November 1530 – 2 July 1576) was a Swiss theologian and classicist, author of the first book relating solely to the Alps.
Life
The son of the former prior of the Cistercian convent of Kappel (Canton of ...
, faculty
*
Peter Martyr Vermigli
Peter Martyr Vermigli (; 8 September 149912 November 1562) was an Italian-born Reformed theologian. His early work as a reformer in Catholic Italy and his decision to flee for Protestant northern Europe influenced some other Italians to convert ...
, faculty
Architecture
The building is located at ''Kirchgasse 9'' at the ''Grossmünsterplatz'' square – attached to the ''
Grossmünster
The Grossmünster (; "great minster") is a Romanesque-style Protestant church in Zürich, Switzerland. It is one of the four major churches in the city (the others being the Fraumünster, Predigerkirche, and St. Peterskirche). Its congregation ...
'' church on its eastern side – in the southeast of the
''Neumarkt'' respectively northwestern of the ''
Münsterhof
Münsterhof (literally: Fraumünster abbey courtyard) is a town square situated in the Lindenhof hill, Lindenhof quarter in the historical center of Zurich, Switzerland. It is the largest town square within the Altstadt (old town) of Zurich and i ...
'' squares in Zürich.
Cloister and Carolinum
The
cloister
A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...
of the former ''Chorherrenstift Grossmünster'', the chapter of
Augustinian canons
The Canons Regular of St. Augustine are Catholic priests who live in community under a rule ( and κανών, ''kanon'', in Greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religio ...
, dates from the late 12th century and was part of the canons (''Chorherrenstift'') which was dissolved in 1832, making way for the girls' school. The cloister was dismantled and integrated into the new building those reconstruction was based on the original elements of the architecture, but includes numerous interpretations by the architect.
The cloister is also home to a permanent exhibition on Zwingli and other important people in the Reformation era.
The cloister was renewed in 2009, its sandstone elements were cleaned, and the interior garden redesigned in corporation with the
ProSpecieRara
ProSpecieRara, the "Schweizerische Stiftung für die kulturhistorische und genetische Vielfalt von Pflanzen und Tieren" ("Swiss foundation for the cultural and genetic diversity of plants and animals"), is a non-profit charitable organization de ...
foundation. The compilation of the cultural and historical ornamental plants is inspired by the natural scientist and polymath
Conrad Gessner
Conrad Gessner (; ; 26 March 1516 – 13 December 1565) was a Swiss physician, naturalist, bibliographer, and philologist. Born into a poor family in Zürich, Switzerland, his father and teachers quickly realised his talents and supported him t ...
who found his final resting place in the cloister.
Gessner dealt inter alia with the elements of teaching, therefore the renewed courtyard garden is dedicated to the thema ''earth, fire, water and air'', cultural-historical ornamental plants in the four beds,
analogous to the ''Gessner-Garten'' in the
Old Botananical Garden.
Present status
After the abolition of the ''Chorherrenstift'' congregation in 1832, and to 1849 the structures were widely demolished and replaced by Wegmann's building in the
Romanesque Revival
Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...
style.
The as of today faculty building was built according to the drafts Gustav Albert Wegmann from 1843 to 1849. The cloister was dismantled during the demolition, supplemented with many new parts and integrated into the new building in 1851. The ''Grossmünster'' church building is owned by the
Canton of Zürich
The canton of Zurich is an administrative unit (Swiss canton, canton) of Switzerland, situated in the northeastern part of the country. With a population of (as of ), it is the most populous canton of Switzerland. Zurich is the ''de facto'' Capi ...
, and the annex building being the former cloister, however, is in the property of the city of Zürich. It is leased to the Theological faculty of the University of Zürich since 1976.
Cultural heritage
Grossmünster and Carolinum (''Ehemalige Mädchenschule am Grossmünster'') are listed in the
as a ''Class A'' object of national importance.
Literature
* Daniel Gutscher: ''Das Grossmünster in Zürich. Eine baugeschichtliche Monographie''. Beiträge zur Kunstgeschichte der Schweiz, Volume 5. Redaction by Catherine Courtiau, Stefan Biffiger, Gian-Willi Vonesch. Gesellschaft für Schweizerische Kunstgeschichte Stäfa, Bern 1983, .
References
External links
UZH Theologische Fakultät
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carolinum, Zurich
Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Zurich
University of Zurich
1523 establishments in Europe
16th-century establishments in Switzerland
Educational institutions established in the 1520s