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The Kražiai College () was a
Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
college (equivalent to a modern secondary school) in
Kražiai Kražiai (; ; ) is a historic town (Lithuania), town in Lithuania, located in the Kelmė district municipality, between Varniai (32 km) and Raseiniai (44 km), on the River. The old town of Kražiai is an archeological and urban monument ...
,
Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...
and later
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
. Established in 1616 in hopes to educate new generations of anti-Protestants, the college was one of the major cultural and educational centers in
Samogitia Samogitia, often known by its Lithuanian language, Lithuanian name ''Žemaitija'' (Samogitian language, Samogitian: ''Žemaitėjė''; see Samogitia#Etymology and alternative names, below for alternative and historical names) is one of the five ...
. In 1620–1742, it shared premises with the Samogitian Priest Seminary. In 1844, the college was transferred to
Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...
.


History


Establishment

Bishop
Merkelis Giedraitis Merkelis Giedraitis (; – 6 April 1609) was Bishop of Samogitia from 1576 to 1609. Educated at Protestant universities in the Duchy of Prussia and Germany, he actively combated the Reformation implementing resolutions of the Council of Trent in ...
raised the idea of establishing a college in
Kražiai Kražiai (; ; ) is a historic town (Lithuania), town in Lithuania, located in the Kelmė district municipality, between Varniai (32 km) and Raseiniai (44 km), on the River. The old town of Kražiai is an archeological and urban monument ...
, the first higher education institution in Samogitia. To that end, in 1608, he invited the Jesuits, bought them land and built a house for their needs. Merkelis died the following year; in his last will, he left money and land for the construction of a Jesuit monastery. Other patrons included
Mikołaj Krzysztof "the Orphan" Radziwiłł Mikołaj is the Polish cognate of given name Nicholas, used both as a given name and a surname. It may refer to people: In Polish (or Polish-Lithuanian) nobility: * Mikołaj Kamieniecki, Polish nobleman and the first Grand Hetman of the Crown * ...
who donated a palace, built in 1565, and
Jan Karol Chodkiewicz Jan Karol Chodkiewicz (; 1561 – 24 September 1621) was a Polish–Lithuanian identity, Polish–Lithuanian military commander of the Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army, who was from 1601 Field Hetman of Lithuania, and from 1605 Grand Hetman of Lit ...
who donated seven homesteads. The college was founded in 1613, and was called ''Collegium Chodkievicianum'' in honor of Chodkiewicz. It was the second Jesuit
college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...
in Lithuania (after Vilnius Jesuit College). The first class was held only in September 1616 in a temporary wooden house. In 1616, the Kražiai College was reorganized into a college with three compulsory classes:
grammar In linguistics, grammar is the set of rules for how a natural language is structured, as demonstrated by its speakers or writers. Grammar rules may concern the use of clauses, phrases, and words. The term may also refer to the study of such rul ...
,
poetics Poetics is the study or theory of poetry, specifically the study or theory of device, structure, form, type, and effect with regards to poetry, though usage of the term can also refer to literature broadly. Poetics is distinguished from hermeneu ...
and
rhetoric Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. It is one of the three ancient arts of discourse ( trivium) along with grammar and logic/ dialectic. As an academic discipline within the humanities, rhetoric aims to study the techniques that speakers or w ...
. The construction of a permanent school began in 1618 (the ceremony of laying the cornerstone was attended by Grand Treasurer
Hieronim Wołłowicz Hieronim Wołłowicz of Bogorya Coat of Arms, born in the 16th century, died in the 17th century, was Podkanclerz and Grand Treasurer of Lithuania of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Starost of Samogitia from 1618 to 1641. Brother of A ...
). At the time, the college already had about 50 students and 12 teachers.


Growth and reorganizations

Gradually, with the support of many wealthy sponsors, the college expanded into a large campus, including its own church built in 1625–89. Full financial support was given to 26 impoverished students. On average, the school employed 30–50 Jesuits and educated 250–300 students. The curriculum and teaching methods followed the '' Ratio Studiorum''. Students belonged to the
Sodality of Our Lady The Sodality of Our Lady, also known as the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary (in Latin, ''Congregationes seu sodalitates B. Mariæ Virginis''), is a Roman Catholic Marian society founded in 1563 by young Belgian Jesuit Jean Leunis (or Jan) a ...
and visited the sick. The college had its own student theater (30 performances are known) and a rich library, which in 1803 held 3,264 volumes (oldest dating back to 1427). The college suffered severe human and capital losses during the Swedish invasion of 1656 and the plague of 1710, but recovered. After the
suppression of the Jesuits Suppression may refer to: Laws * Suppression of Communism Act *Suppression order a type of censorship where a court rules that certain information cannot be published * Tohunga Suppression Act 1907, an Act of the Parliament of New Zealand aimed ...
in 1773, the college's administration was taken over by the
Commission of National Education The Commission of National Education (, KEN, ) was the central educational authority in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, created by the Sejm and King Stanisław August Poniatowski, Stanisław II August on October 14, 1773. Because of its ...
. After the Third Partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth,
Carmelites The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...
from Kolainiai administered the school from 1797 to 1817. In 1817, Tsarist authorities secularized the school, changed its name to gymnasium, introduced primary education classes, and transferred its administration to
Vilnius University Vilnius University ( Lithuanian: ''Vilniaus universitetas'') is a public research university, which is the first and largest university in Lithuania, as well as one of the oldest and most prominent higher education institutions in Central and Ea ...
. As such, the number of students grew and exceeded 400.


Move to Kaunas

Vilnius University was closed in the aftermath of the 1831
November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31) (), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...
. After the establishment of the
Kovno Governorate Kovno Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Kovno (Kaunas). It was formed on 18 December 1842 by Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, Nicholas I from the western part of Vilna Govern ...
in 1843, the gymnasium was transferred from Kražiai to
Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...
(the present-day Maironis Gymnasium). The campus in Kražiai was abandoned and fell into ruins. Only the former student dormitory (''bursa'') survives to this day. The building was extensively renovated in 2008 and houses the Cultural Center of M. K. Sarbievijus, Kražiai Region Museum, and the library and art collection of Charlotte Narkiewicz-Laine.


Teachers and students

The first teacher, Jonas Kochas, was sent from the
Collegium Hosianum The Collegium Hosianum was the Jesuit collegium founded in 1565, 1566 by Polish Cardinal Stanislaus Hosius in Braunsberg (Braniewo), Kingdom of Poland. The town was then part of the Polish Prince-Bishopric of Warmia under rule of Cardinal Hos ...
in
Royal Prussia Royal Prussia (; or , ) or Polish PrussiaAnton Friedrich Büsching, Patrick Murdoch. ''A New System of Geography'', London 1762p. 588/ref> (Polish: ; German: ) became a province of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, which was annexed follow ...
. Among the first teachers was poet
Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski (in Latin, ''Matthiās Casimīrus Sarbievius''; Lithuanian: ''Motiejus Kazimieras Sarbievijus''; Sarbiewo, Poland, 24 February 1595 Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski's biography by Mirosław Korolko in: – 2 April 1640, W ...
who taught syntax. Other notable teachers included historian
Albert Wijuk Kojałowicz Albert Wijuk Kojałowicz (also ''Wojciech Wijuk Kojałowicz'', ; ; 1609–1677) was a Lithuanian historian, theologian and translator. He was a devoted Jesuit and religious polemicist, interested in genealogy and heraldry. He served as a censor, ...
who taught rhetoric, taught philosophy Adam Krupski in 1740–1742,
Žygimantas Liauksminas Žygimantas Liauksminas (, ; 1596 or 1597 – 11 September 1670) was a Lithuanians, Lithuanian Society of Jesus, Jesuit theologian, philosopher, theorist of rhetoric and music, founder of Lithuanian musicology, one of the first Lithuanian professo ...
(Sigismundus Lauxmin) who was also college's rector, and future Bishop
Motiejus Valančius Motiejus Kazimieras Valančius (; , also known by his pen-name ''Joteika'' and ''Ksiądz Maciek''; 1801–1875) was a Catholic Bishop of Samogitia, historian and one of the best known Lithuanian/Samogitian writers of the 19th century. Biograph ...
. Notable students included writers Dionizas Poška and Simonas Stanevičius, folklorists Liudvikas Adomas Jucevičius, explorers
Jan Prosper Witkiewicz Jan Prosper Witkiewicz (; ) (June 24, 1808–May 8, 1839) was a Polish- Lithuanian orientalist, explorer and diplomat serving the Russian Empire. He was a Russian agent in Kabul just before the First Anglo-Afghan War. Surviving family accou ...
, brothers
Antanas Antanas is a Lithuanian masculine given name derived from Antonius that is equivalent to Anthony in Lithuania. It may refer to: * Antanas Andrijauskas (born 1948), Lithuanian philosopher * Antanas Bagdonavičius (born 1938), Lithuanian rower and O ...
and
Jonas Juška Jonas Juška (; 1815–1886) was a Lithuanian teacher and linguist. He studied the Lithuanian language and worked on publishing works by his brother the Catholic priest Antanas Juška. Educated at Kražiai College and Kharkiv University, Juška ...
.


See also

*
List of Jesuit sites This list includes past and present buildings, facilities and institutions associated with the Society of Jesus. In each country, sites are listed in chronological order of start of Jesuit association. Nearly all these sites have be ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kraziai College Kražiai College 1616 establishments in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth 1844 disestablishments Former universities and colleges of Jesuits Universities and colleges in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth History of education in Lithuania Educational institutions established in the 1610s Educational institutions disestablished in 1844