Collegium Hosianum
Encyclopedia
Collegium (school)
A collegium is a French form of schooling that is both a secondary school and a college. They are uncommon today. Most collegiums in the United States were built by Catholic religious orders. One example is The College of the Immaculate Conception in New Orleans, established by the Society of Jesus...
in Royal Prussia
Royal Prussia
Royal Prussia was a Region of the Kingdom of Poland and of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth . Polish Prussia included Pomerelia, Chełmno Land , Malbork Voivodeship , Gdańsk , Toruń , and Elbląg . It is distinguished from Ducal Prussia...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, founded in 1565, 1566 by Cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
Stanislaus Hosius
Stanislaus Hosius
Stanislaus Hosius was a cardinal, since 1551 Prince-Bishop in Bishopric of Warmia, Poland since 1558 papal legate to the Holy Roman Emperor's Imperial Court in Vienna, Austria and since 1566 a papal legate to Poland.Hosius was born in Kraków as the son of Ulrich Hos of Pforzheim and studied law...
in Braniewo
Braniewo
Braniewo is a town in northeastern Poland, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, with a population of 18,068 . It is the capital of Braniewo County...
(Braunsberg). The city of Braniewo was then part of the Diocese of Warmia
Warmia
Warmia or Ermland is a region between Pomerelia and Masuria in northeastern Poland. Together with Masuria, it forms the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship....
(Ermland), a semi-autonomous part of Poland with cardinal Hosius as its prince-bishop
Prince-Bishop
A Prince-Bishop is a bishop who is a territorial Prince of the Church on account of one or more secular principalities, usually pre-existent titles of nobility held concurrently with their inherent clerical office...
. The Collegium Hosianum was one of the biggest Jesuit schools and one of the most important centres of Counter-Reformation
Counter-Reformation
The Counter-Reformation was the period of Catholic revival beginning with the Council of Trent and ending at the close of the Thirty Years' War, 1648 as a response to the Protestant Reformation.The Counter-Reformation was a comprehensive effort, composed of four major elements:#Ecclesiastical or...
in Europe and was particularly established to educated Catholic clergy of different countries.
History
The first Jesuits were called to Warmia by its cardinal Hosius, in order to counter the widespread Protestant movement in Prussia and elsewhere in Central and eastern Europe. The Jesuits arrived 2 November 1564. They were strongly opposed by the largely Protestant Prussian burghers and caused a religious split in the country. Despite difficult material conditions lasting all the 16th century, they quickly founded many educational establishments: gymnasium (1565), convictus nobilium - school for Polish szlachtaSzlachta
The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...
(1565), Diocesan Seminary (1567), Papal Seminary (1578) and dormitory for poor students (1582). The XVI-th century foundation was designed for 20 Jesuits, but the number of them approached to 80, what resulted in problems with the finances of the schools and suitable number of school-rooms.
The Collegium was opened in a former Fransciscan friary. Renovation of the buildings was possible by funds given by Bishopric of Warmia
Archbishopric of Warmia
The Prince-Bishopric of Warmia was a semi independent ecclesiastical state, a Prussian bishopric under the jurisdiction of the Archbishopric of Riga that was a protectorate of the Monastic state of the Teutonic Knights and a protectorate of Kingdom of Poland, later part of the Polish-Lithuanian...
. The Collegium was located in the western part of the building, convictus in the northern, and in the eastern part was located a school. In the first years the gymnasium was not very big due to lack of classrooms. There were five standard "classes" (courses) in it, of which the lowest was "infirma", and the highest was "rhetoric". To the initial problems of the schools joined boycotting by the Protestants and some fights between German and Polish students.
The Collegium in Braniewo distinguished itself from the other Jesuit schools in Poland and all of Europe with a specific curriculum: from 1566 there were taught German language, mathematics, singing and dialectic apart from standard subjects. After opening of the Diocesal and Papal Seminary some theological courses were introduced, and in 1592 also philosophical courses, which was a sign of the high reputation of the school. The school was elitary and the number of students was not high, fluctuating from 130 to 300. The Collegium had an international character, besides local Germans, students came from all over Europe, with the majority of Poles, since the 1580s Swedes and Ruthenians
Ruthenians
The name Ruthenian |Rus']]) is a culturally loaded term and has different meanings according to the context in which it is used. Initially, it was the ethnonym used for the East Slavic peoples who lived in Rus'. Later it was used predominantly for Ukrainians...
added by Antonius Possevinus.
The Collegium was temporally closed in 1626 due to war of Poland with Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus
Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden
Gustav II Adolf has been widely known in English by his Latinized name Gustavus Adolphus Magnus and variously in historical writings also as Gustavus, or Gustavus the Great, or Gustav Adolph the Great,...
(Polish-Swedish War (1625–1629)), and reopened in 1637. In 1646 Matthaeus Montanus (Matthias Bergh), a canon of Warmia, funded a new, large schoolhouse. In the years 1665-1668 the school was closed again due to destructive Swedish invasion in Prussia and Poland, Swedish Deluge.
In the 18th century in the collegium were taught humanities, theology, mathematics and Greek and Hebrew languages. In 1701 and later Polish Jesuits applied to Rome for changing the collegium into full university, but without success. In 1743 they bought from the city of Braunsberg a location for a new schoolhouse, which was built in the next years.
At the time of the Partitions of Poland
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
the prince-bishopric of Warmia with Braunsberg became a part of the Kingdom of Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
in 1772, and in 1773 the Society of Jesus was suppressed. Prussian government turned the closed collegium in 1780 into Gymnasium Academicum, from 1818 called Lyceum Hosianum, which in 1912 became a State Academy.
In 1945 Braunsberg returned to Poland and to its Polish name Braniewo.
Incomes
Fixed incomes of the Ermland Jesuits came from their reals estates, which aggregated in 1603 700 Polish złotys, in 1622 2540 złotys, in 1651 3530 złotys, in 1681 2263 złotys, in 1730 3102 złotys, in 1764 5680 złotys. To the Jesuits belonged (in different periods) villages: Stary Dwór (Althof), Bleishöfen, Kiszpork (Christburg), Daszkowo, Dębiniec, Ławice (Hansdorf), Hiplau, Hirsfelde, Julianowo (Julienshöhe), Klajzak, Krosno (Krossen), Łabuchy (Labuch), Nowa Cerkiew (Neukirchen), Petlików, Rothflies, Ruciana Góra, Sanków, Turznice, Wangory i Wronie.Papal Seminary
Papal SeminarySeminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
(Papal Alumnate) was established officially on 15 March 1581. Its founder was Antonius Possevinus. The Papal seminary served as school for the youths from Protestant countries, which after graduating came back to their countries and act for their recatolization. Many alumni
Alumnus
An alumnus , according to the American Heritage Dictionary, is "a graduate of a school, college, or university." An alumnus can also be a former member, employee, contributor or inmate as well as a former student. In addition, an alumna is "a female graduate or former student of a school, college,...
after graduating came first to Wilno to study philosophy and theology in Jesuit University of Wilno. In the 16th century the number of alumni fluctuated from 23 to 40. In 1586 the Swedish College was established as an autonomous part of the Papal Seminary.
John Drews, rector of the Papal seminary at the and of 17th century, built for it a new building, with fancy garden and fountains.
Diocesal Seminary
Diocesal Seminary served as a seminary for the Bishopric of Warmia. It was funded by Stanislaus Hosius in 1567 and opened on 25 November 1567. In the 16th century it had from 17 to 24 alumni. Diocesal seminary was directed by a rector of the collegium and by a prefect (lat. praefectus), called later a regens, who was responsible for its students. The Seminary was located in the building of the Priestly Fraternity.Novitiate
The novitiateNovitiate
Novitiate, alt. noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a novice monastic or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether they are called to the religious life....
of the Polish Province of Society of Jesus was opened in Braunsberg in 1568. The first person who entered the novitiate was Michał Chałkowski, whose examination take place in Braunsberg on 15 June 1569. In the years 1569-1575 126 people applied for admission to the Polish Province of Jesuits, mainly Polish nobles. The first master of novices
Master of novices
The master of novices or novice master is a term used in the Roman Catholic Church to refer those religious to whom is committed the training of the novices and the government of the novitiate of a religious order or congregation...
was Robert Abercromby. The novitiate was located at first in the building of the collegium, then in the old building of the convictus. In 1586 the novitate was moved from Braniewo to Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
.
Notable teachers
- Karl Weierstraß (1815–1897), mathematic teacher in 1848 - 56
- Wilhelm Karl Joseph Killing (1847–1923), mathematic teacher
- Franz Josef NiedenzuFranz Josef NiedenzuFranz Josef Niedenzu was a German botanist born in Köppernig. For most of his career he was a professor and subsequently rector at the Lyceum Hosianum in Braunsberg, East Prussia...
(1857–1937), Rector
Notable scholars
- Andreas ThielAndreas Thiel (bishop)Andreas Thiel was a Bishop of Ermland in East Prussia from 1885–1908.Thiel was born in Lokau in the district of Rößel...
(1826–1908), Catholic bishop - Augustinus BludauAugustinus BludauAugustinus Bludau was a Bishop of Ermland in East Prussia from 1909–1930.Bludau was born in Guttstadt as a son of a tailor. After attending the Gymnasium in Elbing, he started to study Catholic divinity at the Collegium Hosianum in Braunsberg...
, (1863–1930), Catholic bishop - Konrad ZuseKonrad ZuseKonrad Zuse was a German civil engineer and computer pioneer. His greatest achievement was the world's first functional program-controlled Turing-complete computer, the Z3, which became operational in May 1941....
(1910–1995), computer scientist
School library
The original library (about 2000 volumes) was plundered by SwedishSwedish Empire
The Swedish Empire refers to the Kingdom of Sweden between 1561 and 1721 . During this time, Sweden was one of the great European powers. In Swedish, the period is called Stormaktstiden, literally meaning "the Great Power Era"...
troops throughout the Polish–Swedish War (1626–1629)
Polish–Swedish War (1626–1629)
The Polish–Swedish War of 1626–1629 was the fourth stage in a series of conflicts between Sweden and Poland fought in the 17th century...
and is still existing at the University of Upsala.
External links
- Lyceum Hosianum Anniversary, Prof. Jos. Bender, Braunsberg, 1868