Schulzentrum Marienhöhe
Encyclopedia
Schulzentrum Marienhöhe or Marienhoehe Academy is a private
K-13, co-educational Christian
boarding
school in Darmstadt
, Germany
. It is owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church
. The school has close ties with Friedensau Adventist University
.
of Hesse
then approved the establishment of a mission school.
In 1925, a new building for the school workshops was built. Over the years, the number of workshops grew to nine: locksmith, carpentry, printing, upholstery, mattress manufacturing, knitting and others. Many students earned money from these workshops, with which they used to pay their tuition fees. Also, the number of teaching departments expanded. There was a seminary, a business school, a housekeeping school, preschool and nursing courses for educators and kindergarten teachers. In the 1927-28 school year, the school expanded to include a six-year course of preparation for higher education - today's high school
equivalent. The students were prepared for graduation, at Marienhöhe, and entered into tertiary education
in the Darmstadt region. The range of educational opportunities and the reputation of the seminary brought more students and pupils to the school each year. In the academic year 1928-29, enrolment peaked at 227 before the Second World War began.
closed the school. Books and money were seized and the classrooms, offices and printing plant was sealed. Students had to go home immediately. After seven weeks, the school ban was lifted. In 1934, the school ended its seminary course, and in 1936 it also ended its general course for higher education. Meanwhile, the number of pupils enrolled fell dramatically. On the 1st April 1939, on a recommendation of the state's education department, the school decided to close as the small school roll could not justify its continued operation. Two years later, the site was still owned by the school and one of the school's businesses – mattress manufacturing – was still in operation.
In 1941, Marienhöhe was seized because of a military law by the military district
command in Wiesbaden
XII. Units of the armed forces moved into the houses and the site received a military face. Solid bunkers and a series of wooden barracks were built. After the war, the occupying Allies
used the site as a camp for displaced people. In the summer of 1948, the school was no longer in the control of the Allied forces. The International Refugee Organization
began clearing land and buildings. It became a neglected area with dirty smog covered buildings for many years.
In August 1948, 25 future students came together. Most were able to do handwork. Immediately, reconstruction, renovation and cleaning work began. On October 1948, the Marienhöhe school was ceremonially reopened after the new education authority gave their approval. The school began with the former seminary courses, housekeeping and nursing preschool. The workshops were later reopened. In the spring of 1949, the "old school house" was thoroughly overhauled. At the beginning of 1949-50 school year, the Hesse state government
approved the operation of the school despite Marienhöhe only having one class of 7 students. On top of that, construction of a new gymnasium began. In December 1949, the foundations for the new classroom buildings were laid.
The successful results from the first examination and the full class numbers lead to public recognition of the grammar school in Hesse. In the school year of 1956/57, the school received state recognition by the Federal Republic
. In the year of 1959/60, a new division of mathematical science, and another division were introduced. Students at Year 11 were able to choose between the two.
or gymnasien depending on academic and overall performance.
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
K-13, co-educational Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
boarding
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
school in Darmstadt
Darmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It is owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
. The school has close ties with Friedensau Adventist University
Friedensau Adventist University
Friedensau Adventist University is an institution run and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Germany, a protestant church...
.
History
In 1924, a group of Seventh-day Adventists bought a former gym and dance studio from Elizabeth Duncan. The authorities in the stateStates of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
of Hesse
Hesse
Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
then approved the establishment of a mission school.
In 1925, a new building for the school workshops was built. Over the years, the number of workshops grew to nine: locksmith, carpentry, printing, upholstery, mattress manufacturing, knitting and others. Many students earned money from these workshops, with which they used to pay their tuition fees. Also, the number of teaching departments expanded. There was a seminary, a business school, a housekeeping school, preschool and nursing courses for educators and kindergarten teachers. In the 1927-28 school year, the school expanded to include a six-year course of preparation for higher education - today's high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
equivalent. The students were prepared for graduation, at Marienhöhe, and entered into tertiary education
Tertiary education
Tertiary education, also referred to as third stage, third level, and post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of a school providing a secondary education, such as a high school, secondary school, university-preparatory school...
in the Darmstadt region. The range of educational opportunities and the reputation of the seminary brought more students and pupils to the school each year. In the academic year 1928-29, enrolment peaked at 227 before the Second World War began.
War Years
In 1933, the Secret State PoliceGestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
closed the school. Books and money were seized and the classrooms, offices and printing plant was sealed. Students had to go home immediately. After seven weeks, the school ban was lifted. In 1934, the school ended its seminary course, and in 1936 it also ended its general course for higher education. Meanwhile, the number of pupils enrolled fell dramatically. On the 1st April 1939, on a recommendation of the state's education department, the school decided to close as the small school roll could not justify its continued operation. Two years later, the site was still owned by the school and one of the school's businesses – mattress manufacturing – was still in operation.
In 1941, Marienhöhe was seized because of a military law by the military district
Military district (Germany)
During World War II Germany used the system of military districts to relieve field commanders of as much administrative work as possible and to provide a regular flow of trained recruits and supplies to the Field Army...
command in Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
XII. Units of the armed forces moved into the houses and the site received a military face. Solid bunkers and a series of wooden barracks were built. After the war, the occupying Allies
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
used the site as a camp for displaced people. In the summer of 1948, the school was no longer in the control of the Allied forces. The International Refugee Organization
International Refugee Organization
The International Refugee Organization was founded on April 20, 1946 to deal with the massive refugee problem created by World War II. A Preparatory Commission began operations fourteen months previously. It was a United Nations specialized agency and took over many of the functions of the earlier...
began clearing land and buildings. It became a neglected area with dirty smog covered buildings for many years.
In August 1948, 25 future students came together. Most were able to do handwork. Immediately, reconstruction, renovation and cleaning work began. On October 1948, the Marienhöhe school was ceremonially reopened after the new education authority gave their approval. The school began with the former seminary courses, housekeeping and nursing preschool. The workshops were later reopened. In the spring of 1949, the "old school house" was thoroughly overhauled. At the beginning of 1949-50 school year, the Hesse state government
Landtag of Hesse
The Landtag of Hesse is the state Parliament of the German State of Hesse. It convenes in Wiesbaden and currently consists of 118 members of five Parties. Currently there is coalition between the CDU and the FDP....
approved the operation of the school despite Marienhöhe only having one class of 7 students. On top of that, construction of a new gymnasium began. In December 1949, the foundations for the new classroom buildings were laid.
Post-War & Beyond
In the school year of 1950/51, the two initial classes which were originally held in the gym relocated to the new buildings. The school was reestablished in 1950. The enrolment also grew from 60 students in 1949 to 160 students in 1952. One day in 1952/53, a fire was started in the dormitory (located on the grounds of the seminary). Nearly all the occupants were absent when the fire broke out. The cause of the fire was unknown but many students lost all their belongings. The seminary students were temporarily moved into the "old school house". The girls lived in the upper floors of the main house. In 1953/54, on the location where the block had been, a three storey stable building was erected as the "new students home". In the year 1954/55, a new teacher's house was built next to the "old school house". In the spring of 1955, the first matriculation examination was held at the school. Three girls and thirteen boys took part. They received good marks which aided in giving the school a good name.The successful results from the first examination and the full class numbers lead to public recognition of the grammar school in Hesse. In the school year of 1956/57, the school received state recognition by the Federal Republic
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
. In the year of 1959/60, a new division of mathematical science, and another division were introduced. Students at Year 11 were able to choose between the two.
High School
Once in high school students enter either RealschuleRealschule
The Realschule is a type of secondary school in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia , Denmark , Sweden , Hungary and in the Russian Empire .-History:The Realschule was an outgrowth of the rationalism and empiricism of the seventeenth and...
or gymnasien depending on academic and overall performance.
Boarding
The boarding program is open to students aged 14 and above. There are two boarding houses: one for girls and the other for boys.See also
- List of Seventh-day Adventist secondary and elementary schools
- List of schools in Germany