Gymnasium of Karlovci
Encyclopedia
The Gymnasium of Karlovci or the High School of Karlovci, located in the town of Sremski Karlovci
in Serbia
, is the oldest Serbian secondary school on the slopes of Fruška Gora
. This type of school is comparable to U.S. college preparatory schools or English grammar schools.
, the early eighteenth century were difficult times for the Serbs in their northern lands (particularly in the region now called Vojvodina
) under the new yoke of the Habsburg Monarchy
. The principle Cuius regio, eius religio
was still in force throughout central Europe, though now pointing at members of the Eastern Orthodox Church
instead of the Protestants. Judicial torture and cruel methods of execution were part of the legal process in the Holy Roman Empire
until at least the nineteenth century. Despite the hardships and uncertainty of Ottoman rule, it is doubtful whether the many Serbs in Turkish-occupied Serbia would have preferred the life of millions of their Eastern Orthodox faithful who lived as serfs or feudal tenants in the Austrian Empire, where families were liable to deportations, torture and even execution at the whim of feudal landlords. Many Serbian families in the 1740s left for Imperial Russia to settle and start a new life among neighbouring Zaporozhian Cossacks by founding New Serbia (historical province) and Slavo-Serbia
. Revulsion against the nature of Turkish rule should be measured against the standards prevailing in Christian central Europe during the eighteenth century. Schools of higher learning under the Habsburg empress or emperors for Slavs in general and Serbs in particular were at a premium, to say the least. Perhaps this explains the late flowering of educational institutions in territories under western European occupation, not to mention the territories of neighbouring Serbs whose lot fared no better under Turkish domination.
's Istorija Nove Srpske Književnosti (Belgrade, 1921, pages 19–20), the school was first established by Maksim Suvorov, a Russian scholar and educator, sent by Empress Catherine I of Russia
in 1725 to open the Latin Gymnasium (Latinska Škola) a year later in Karlovci. It was due to the efforts of Metropolitan Mojsije Petrović of Karlovci who wrote a telling letter to the Tsar:
I don't ask for material amenities, but spiritual. I don't ask for money but for help enlightening the souls living amongst us. Be a second Moses for us and lead us from the ignorance of Egypt!
In February 1724, Peter the Great issued a decree on educational assistance, although during his lifetime these plans were not carried out for some reason. The first Russian teacher, Maksim Suvorov, arrived in the Balkans in August 1725, when Catherine I was already in power.
In 1729 the name was changed to Latinsko-Slavenska Škola (the Latin-Slavonic Gymnasium). Then in 1733 the name changed again to Škola Emanuila Kozačinskoga (Emanuil Kozačinski Gymnasium). The high school which had the longest existance was Pokrovo-Bogoradnična Škola, founded in 1749. It lasted for two decades before it was closed on political grounds by Austrian authorities. It wasn't until Metropolitan Stefan Stratimirović
and Merchant Dimitrije Anastasijević (nicknamed Sabo), who donated 20,000 Austrian forints, that the construction of the new gymnasium began, but only after negotiations with the emperor were finalized and the licence to build was finaally given.
The High School of Karlovci began its operations on the 1st of November 1791 and had six classes, four lower ( "Grammar
"), and two higher (humanities). Also, there were two boarding schools in the complex, one for students whose families had means of support and the other for those of limited means. Blagodjejanije, one of a class of students at the gymnasium, who, being persons of 'limited' means, were received for lower fees, and obtained free commons, lodgings and other assistance towards their education during their terms of residence. The class of students who had 'means' was called konvikt. The teaching language—as in many other schools in the Holy Roman Empire
of the time—was Latin, and the following subjects were taught:
The first director of the school was Andrija Gros, a Slovak
by birth, who received his doctorate from the University of Jena, and later came Andrija Volni, also a Slovak, who for 21 years managed the school. Metropolitan Stratimirović brought professors from the Slavic land of Slovakia, then under Austrian rule, and elected directors from there as well. The reason for this was to keep zealous Roman Catholic proselytizers, Hungarian and German influences at bay as much as possible. The next directors of the school were George Charles Ruma, and Paul Magda
The present building was constructed in 1891 by Gyula Pártos
, the Hungarian architect. The school has a very valuable library of Serbian
history in Hungary
.
Today philology
is studied at the school.
Classical languages during the four years studied Latin and Greek as main languages, but the attending and teaching English as a third and mandatory language.
Modern languages provide a range of languages from which students take two and a half may wish to learn other languages optional. The third and obliged them Latin.
Every high school student has to learn English.
Sremski Karlovci
Sremski Karlovci is a town and municipality in Serbia, in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, situated on the bank of the river Danube, 8 km from Novi Sad...
in Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, is the oldest Serbian secondary school on the slopes of Fruška Gora
Fruška Gora
Fruška Gora is a mountain in north Syrmia. Most part of the territory is located within Vojvodina, Serbia, but a smaller part on its western side overlaps the territory of Croatia...
. This type of school is comparable to U.S. college preparatory schools or English grammar schools.
Life under Foreign Rule
After the Treaty of KarlowitzTreaty of Karlowitz
The Treaty of Karlowitz was signed on 26 January 1699 in Sremski Karlovci , concluding the Austro-Ottoman War of 1683–1697 in which the Ottoman side had been defeated at the Battle of Zenta...
, the early eighteenth century were difficult times for the Serbs in their northern lands (particularly in the region now called Vojvodina
Vojvodina
Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...
) under the new yoke of the Habsburg Monarchy
Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
. The principle Cuius regio, eius religio
Cuius regio, eius religio
Cuius regio, eius religio is a phrase in Latin translated as "Whose realm, his religion", meaning the religion of the ruler dictated the religion of the ruled...
was still in force throughout central Europe, though now pointing at members of the Eastern Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
instead of the Protestants. Judicial torture and cruel methods of execution were part of the legal process in the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
until at least the nineteenth century. Despite the hardships and uncertainty of Ottoman rule, it is doubtful whether the many Serbs in Turkish-occupied Serbia would have preferred the life of millions of their Eastern Orthodox faithful who lived as serfs or feudal tenants in the Austrian Empire, where families were liable to deportations, torture and even execution at the whim of feudal landlords. Many Serbian families in the 1740s left for Imperial Russia to settle and start a new life among neighbouring Zaporozhian Cossacks by founding New Serbia (historical province) and Slavo-Serbia
Slavo-Serbia
Slavo-Serbia was a territory of Imperial Russia between 1753 and 1764. It was located by the right bank of the Donets River between the Bakhmut and Lugan rivers...
. Revulsion against the nature of Turkish rule should be measured against the standards prevailing in Christian central Europe during the eighteenth century. Schools of higher learning under the Habsburg empress or emperors for Slavs in general and Serbs in particular were at a premium, to say the least. Perhaps this explains the late flowering of educational institutions in territories under western European occupation, not to mention the territories of neighbouring Serbs whose lot fared no better under Turkish domination.
Survival and Resurgence
The Serbian gymnasium was founded in 1791, though its origins go further back with a few reincarnations in between and different locations in town. According to Jovan SkerlićJovan Skerlić
Jovan Skerlić was a Serbian writer and critic. He is regarded as one of the most influential Serbian literary critics of the early 20th century, after Bogdan Popović.- Biography :...
's Istorija Nove Srpske Književnosti (Belgrade, 1921, pages 19–20), the school was first established by Maksim Suvorov, a Russian scholar and educator, sent by Empress Catherine I of Russia
Catherine I of Russia
Catherine I , the second wife of Peter the Great, reigned as Empress of Russia from 1725 until her death.-Life as a peasant woman:The life of Catherine I was said by Voltaire to be nearly as extraordinary as that of Peter the Great himself. There are no documents that confirm her origins. Born on...
in 1725 to open the Latin Gymnasium (Latinska Škola) a year later in Karlovci. It was due to the efforts of Metropolitan Mojsije Petrović of Karlovci who wrote a telling letter to the Tsar:
I don't ask for material amenities, but spiritual. I don't ask for money but for help enlightening the souls living amongst us. Be a second Moses for us and lead us from the ignorance of Egypt!
In February 1724, Peter the Great issued a decree on educational assistance, although during his lifetime these plans were not carried out for some reason. The first Russian teacher, Maksim Suvorov, arrived in the Balkans in August 1725, when Catherine I was already in power.
In 1729 the name was changed to Latinsko-Slavenska Škola (the Latin-Slavonic Gymnasium). Then in 1733 the name changed again to Škola Emanuila Kozačinskoga (Emanuil Kozačinski Gymnasium). The high school which had the longest existance was Pokrovo-Bogoradnična Škola, founded in 1749. It lasted for two decades before it was closed on political grounds by Austrian authorities. It wasn't until Metropolitan Stefan Stratimirović
Stefan Stratimirović
Stefan Stratimirović was Metropolitan of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the Austrian Empire between 1790 and 1836. Having been appointed Metropolitan at the age of 33, Stratimirović maintained control over church life decisively and autonomously...
and Merchant Dimitrije Anastasijević (nicknamed Sabo), who donated 20,000 Austrian forints, that the construction of the new gymnasium began, but only after negotiations with the emperor were finalized and the licence to build was finaally given.
The High School of Karlovci began its operations on the 1st of November 1791 and had six classes, four lower ( "Grammar
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
"), and two higher (humanities). Also, there were two boarding schools in the complex, one for students whose families had means of support and the other for those of limited means. Blagodjejanije, one of a class of students at the gymnasium, who, being persons of 'limited' means, were received for lower fees, and obtained free commons, lodgings and other assistance towards their education during their terms of residence. The class of students who had 'means' was called konvikt. The teaching language—as in many other schools in the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
of the time—was Latin, and the following subjects were taught:
- German languageGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
- HistoryHistoryHistory is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
- GeographyGeographyGeography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
- Natural scienceNatural scienceThe natural sciences are branches of science that seek to elucidate the rules that govern the natural world by using empirical and scientific methods...
- AnthropologyAnthropologyAnthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
- Roman Antiquity
- PhysicsPhysicsPhysics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
- LogicLogicIn philosophy, Logic is the formal systematic study of the principles of valid inference and correct reasoning. Logic is used in most intellectual activities, but is studied primarily in the disciplines of philosophy, mathematics, semantics, and computer science...
- PhilosophyPhilosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and Morals - Greek languageGreek languageGreek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
The first director of the school was Andrija Gros, a Slovak
Slovaks
The Slovaks, Slovak people, or Slovakians are a West Slavic people that primarily inhabit Slovakia and speak the Slovak language, which is closely related to the Czech language.Most Slovaks today live within the borders of the independent Slovakia...
by birth, who received his doctorate from the University of Jena, and later came Andrija Volni, also a Slovak, who for 21 years managed the school. Metropolitan Stratimirović brought professors from the Slavic land of Slovakia, then under Austrian rule, and elected directors from there as well. The reason for this was to keep zealous Roman Catholic proselytizers, Hungarian and German influences at bay as much as possible. The next directors of the school were George Charles Ruma, and Paul Magda
The present building was constructed in 1891 by Gyula Pártos
Gyula Pártos
Gyula Pártos was a Hungarian architect. Together with Ödön Lechner he designed a number of buildings in the typical Secession style of the turn of the century Hungary.-Career:...
, the Hungarian architect. The school has a very valuable library of Serbian
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
history in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
.
Today philology
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
is studied at the school.
Directions
In school, there are two directions, the classical languages and modern languages.Classical languages during the four years studied Latin and Greek as main languages, but the attending and teaching English as a third and mandatory language.
Modern languages provide a range of languages from which students take two and a half may wish to learn other languages optional. The third and obliged them Latin.
Every high school student has to learn English.
Former pupils
- Sima Milutinović SarajlijaSima Milutinovic SarajlijaSima Milutinović "Sarajlija" was a Bosnian–Serbian poet, hajduk, translator, historian, philologist, diplomat and adventurer.-Biography:...
- Dimitrije Davidović
- Milovan Vidaković
- Vuk Karadžić
- Branko RadičevićBranko RadicevicBranko Radičević , an influential Serbian poet, within a short space of time contrived to enhance Serbian literature with several perennially attractive poems.- Biography:...
- Jovan Sterija PopovićJovan Sterija PopovicJovan Sterija Popović was a Serbian playwright, poet and pedagogue who taught at the Belgrade Higher School. Sterija was recognized by his contemporaries as the one of the leading Serbian intellectuals...
- Josif RajačićJosif RajacicJosif Rajačić was a metropolitan of Sremski Karlovci, Serbian patriarch, administrator of Serbian Vojvodina and baron.-Life:...
- Stevan ŠupljikacStevan ŠupljikacStevan Šupljikac, known simply as Vojvoda Šupljikac was a voivode and the first Duke of the Serbian Vojvodina, in 1848.-Life:...
- Jovan Subotić
- Dimitrije RuvaracDimitrije RuvaracDimitrije Ruvarac was Serbian historian, Orthodox priest, politician and publisher. He is known for being one of the most active publishers of his time.- Ruvarac family :...
- Ilarion RuvaracIlarion RuvaracIlarion Ruvarac was historian and Orthodox priest, a member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts . Ruvarac introduced the critical methods into Serbian historiography. He was archimandrite of Grgeteg monastery...
- Vasa Stajić
- Borislav Mihajlović Mihiz
- Vida OgnjenovićVida OgnjenovicVida Ognjenović is a famous Serbian theater director, playwright, writer, drama professor and diplomat....
- Dejan MedakovićDejan MedakovicDejan Medaković was a Serbian writer, historian and professor who resided in Belgrade...
- Oto HorvatOto HorvatOto Horvat was born in 1967 in Novi Sad, Serbia. He studied in Novi Sad, Erlangen and Berlin. He writes poetry and translates from Hungarian, German and Italian. He lives and works in Florence, Italy...
Language Combinations
- English - German
- English - French
- English - Russian
- English - Italian
- French - English
- Russian - English
- German - English
- Spanish - English
- Italian - English
External links
- Карловачка гимназија, website Karlovci Gymnasium.
See also
- Sremski KarlovciSremski KarlovciSremski Karlovci is a town and municipality in Serbia, in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, situated on the bank of the river Danube, 8 km from Novi Sad...
- Buildings and structures in Sremski KarlovciBuildings and structures in Sremski Karlovci-Educational historical buildings:*Gymnasium of Karlovci, first Serbian secondary school *Serbian Orthodox Theological Seminary of Saint Arsenije-Religious buildings:*The Patriarchy Court, Sremski Karlovci*The Orthodox cathedral of Saint Nikolaj...