Collegium St. Hieronymi

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Dillingen around 1650, on the left the study church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary of the Jesuit College
Former university with study church
Sculpture of St. Jerome above the entrance to the former Jesuit university
Study church and building of the academy for teacher training and personnel management in Bavaria
New construction of the Konvikt from 1910 on the site of the former Jesuit college

The Collegium St. Hieronymi was founded in 1549 by Cardinal Otto Truchsess von Waldburg (1514–1573), Prince-Bishop of Augsburg , in Dillingen an der Donau , a town in the Bavarian administrative district of Swabia , as a university with a grammar school. It was the forerunner of the University of Dillingen, which existed until 1803, and of today's Johann-Michael-Sailer-Gymnasium . From 1563 to 1773 it was under the direction of the Jesuits . Today the buildings belong to the Academy for Teacher Training and Personnel Management .

founding

In 1549 Cardinal Otto Truchsess von Waldburg, who had been Prince-Bishop of Augsburg since 1543, founded in Dillingen with the approval of Pope Paul III. (1468–1549) the Collegium St. Hieronymi, which was also known as Collegium litterarum . As an episcopal academy , it was primarily intended to serve the training of clergy . In addition to the college, in which a grammar school was integrated, the college also included a seminary and a konvikt . Here, shielded from the influences of the Reformation , the southern German aristocratic sons should be given a Catholic education. In addition, qualified priest training should be guaranteed there.

Dillingen had been a residence of the prince-bishops of Augsburg since 1258 , after Hartmann V , Bishop of Augsburg and last son of Count Hartmann von Dillingen , donated his inheritance including the castle and the city of Dillingen to the monastery of Augsburg . Since the prince-bishops were increasingly restricted in their rights by the Augsburg citizens, they expanded the castle in Dillingen into their main residence from the middle of the 15th century . Already Peter von Schaumberg (1388-1469), 1424-1469 Bishop of Augsburg, the administrative and judicial authorities of the Bishopric of Augsburg had moved to Dillingen. Otto Truchsess von Waldburg considered the residence town of Dillingen ideally suited for the establishment of a spiritual training center. For this purpose, smaller places were preferred, in which the pupils could be monitored more easily than in larger cities and kept away from distractions and seductions.

In addition to 100,000 guilders from the cardinal's private fortune, the institution was to be provided with the income from the monasteries in Swabia , which were orphaned as a result of the Reformation . Since these monasteries had already been taken over by Protestant cities, the Collegium only succeeded in enforcing its demands with the help of Emperor Charles V. It received payments from the cities of Augsburg and Memmingen and Charles V left the income from the Unterliezheim monastery to him . Also the monastery Herbrechtingen had to pay the college fees.

The first professors came from the University of Leuven such as Peter Endavian, Herlen von Rosenthal and Martin Rithow. The Spaniard Martin Olave came from Paris and the Dominican Pedro de Soto , the confessor of Emperor Charles V, from Spain .

classes

The training included three levels of instruction: Artes ingenuae or Artes liberales (corresponding to the grammar school), philosophy and theology . The transition from grammar school to university took place after passing the final exam. All three areas were subordinate to the same rector. The license to teach was divided into three degrees: Baccalaureate , Licentiate , Magisterium or Doctorate in theology. The insignia for the baccalaureate was a green laurel wreath , for the licentiate a master’s cap, for the master’s degree a book, hat and ring, and for all three degrees a long coat.

In 1550, classes began in three classes at the Inferiora (high school) and theology in two classes. At the grammar school, three teachers taught from eight to ten in the morning and from three to five in the afternoon. Subject of the lessons were Latin grammar , rhetoric , Cicero's letters and speeches, Horace and Virgil . Poets and historians should be "explained with great caution", while the ancient comedy writers should not be treated. There were also half an hour singing lessons twice a week. Theology was taught by two teachers, seven to eight in the morning and one to three in the afternoon.

In the 1551/52 school year, the Inferiora , which was later supplemented by a Rudimenta and Principia ( Latin School ), already had six teachers. The teachers in the lower classes were called preceptores , those of the upper class as magistri . Classes were given in Latin. Exams were held every six months and a decision was made about promotion to the next class. Four professors were designated for the philosophical studies, two for dialectics and logic and two for metaphysics , who taught two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon. The study of theology included scholastic theology, the study of scriptures, and pastoral theology . There were public disputations in philosophy every Monday and Saturday and theology every Friday.

Since the classrooms were not heated, the students had to wear coats and hats in the winter.

Statutes

The school year began on October 1st and ended on September 30th, the feast day of St. Jerome . Longer vacations were not planned, the students were only allowed to go home for a few days at Christmas , Mardi Gras , Easter and Pentecost .

From 1643, the autumn break was introduced from September 8 to October 21.

Everyone who wanted to be accepted had to profess the Catholic faith . The entire college should gather for prayer every morning and evening. The sacraments of penance and communion should be received once a month . Participation in the religious instruction that took place in the church was compulsory. Teachers should teach their students with “patience, love, and seriousness”.

The grounds of the collegium were only allowed to be left for church, classes and walks. The mandatory clothing was a gown "reaching down to the calves", a beret and a choir skirt. The hat should "have no feathers, flowers or similar frivolous and unholy jewelry". Visiting taverns and swimming in the Danube were forbidden, as was dealing with “suspicious people” or the possession of “suspicious books”. Guns were also not allowed to be carried.

The statutes should be read every month so that the regulations memorize the pupils.

Elevation to University

On February 22, 1550, the papal permission from Julius III. (1487-1555) confirmed that the College on 6 April 1551 to the rank of University rose and with the appropriate privileges endowed. On June 30, 1553, Emperor Charles V confirmed the rights of the university and on May 21, 1554, the abbot of the Holy Cross Monastery of Donauwörth, representing the Bishop of Speyer, commissioned by the Pope to promulgate it , opened the university . The rector , Herlen von Rosenthal, was awarded the insignia consisting of a red coat, a silver scepter and a seal .

Dillinger Hammer in the Bavarian National Museum in Munich

coat of arms

Coat of arms of the University of Dillingen

With the seal, the university received a coat of arms . It was divided into a blue and a yellow field. In the blue field there was a hammer ( Dillinger Hammer ) with the inscription Julius III. Jubilee VIII condidit feliciter (Julius III happily opened the eighth year of jubilee). It should represent the hammer with which Pope Julius III. opened the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica and ushered in the Holy Year celebrated in 1550 . The Pope gave this hammer to Cardinal Otto Truchsess von Waldburg. The hammer was surrounded by three pine cones, which, like the three lions depicted in the yellow field, were part of the cardinal's family coat of arms. A dove and tongues of fire, symbolizing the Holy Spirit, hovered over both fields . Above it was the inscription: Verba mea quasi ignis et malleus conterens petram (My words are like fire and like a hammer conquer a stone).

Jesuit College

Inner courtyard of the former Jesuit college

At first, the young university had great difficulties in getting and keeping enough teaching staff. Often they took up more interesting offers after a short time and migrated to more attractive places. For this reason, Cardinal von Waldburg intended to entrust a spiritual order with the management , which would be able to fill the professorship positions and ensure continuous teaching. For this purpose, Dominicans from Spain should be recruited for Dillingen, but this failed. In addition, people in Dillingen were not particularly friendly towards the Spaniards and mockingly referred to the Collegium St. Hieronymi as "Collegium gallicum", alluding to the teachers from abroad. The Dominicans were also discredited by the indulgence preacher Johann Tetzel .

In 1563/64, Cardinal Otto Truchsess von Waldburg transferred the leadership of the college to the Jesuit order founded by Ignatius von Loyola in 1534 , which held it until the order was abolished in 1773. The first Jesuits arrived in Dillingen on October 30, 1563, among them Covillonius, Stephan Liberius, Hieronymus Torrensis, Conrad Schwager, Albertus Viennensis and Christoph Herrera. On August 17, 1564, Cardinal von Waldburg presented the university's insignia (coat, key, seal, scepter) to Petrus Canisius , who accepted them as the Provincial of Germany on behalf of the Jesuits. He appointed his nephew Heinrich Dionysius from Cologne as the new rector .

Number of pupils and students

According to Hermann Muzell, the following numbers of pupils and students are documented in the 16th and 17th centuries:

  • 1563: 300 pupils and students
  • 1573: 500 pupils and students
  • 1582: 600 pupils and students
  • 1600: 650 pupils and students
  • 1605: 760 pupils and students

In 1607 the grammar school alone attended 463 students and in 1631/32, in the midst of the Thirty Years' War , 304 students. In 1634/35 the number dropped to 63 students. Only after the Thirty Years War was the number of 200 pupils reached again.

In addition to the pupils and students living in the college, there were also the Pauperes St. Hieronymi or Ollarii (from Latin olla saucepan), students who lived in the city and were given a free lunch at a special table.

University printing house

Already in 1560 Cardinal had of Waldburg the book printing house , bought by Sebald Mayer, the first Dillinger printers in Dillingen after being in Schretzheim a paper mill was founded. In 1568 he donated the printing works to the university, which owned it until 1675. The Jesuits were thus able to print their own textbooks for the wide network of their schools.

Law and Medical School

1625, the university was by a faculty of canon law expanded in 1629 by a faculty of civil law . A medical-surgical department was added in the middle of the 18th century .

theatre

The Jesuits attached great importance to the education of the theater. At the end of the year, on Shrovetide and on special occasions, the schoolchildren and students put on plays to which the public was allowed to attend. Initially these performances took place in the courtyard of the college, later there was a separate theater hall for them.

building

Study Church of the Assumption of Mary and former University of Dillingen, opposite the old grammar school, today Dillingen Study Library

Classes initially took place in individual, makeshift interconnected buildings across from the Upper Pharmacy, which still exists today. In 1557 a new four-story building was inaugurated, which was equipped with nine lecture halls and an auditorium . It had a tower with several bells. Almost 70 years later it had already become dilapidated and was demolished in 1628. The grammar school then remained in the Konvikt building for almost a hundred years. In 1724 the foundation stone was laid for a new school building, which today houses the Dillingen study library .

Around 1603/05, a new north and middle wing were built under Prince-Bishop Heinrich V. von Knöringen (1570–1646). The so-called religious were housed in the north building. These pupils were sent by monasteries, which also paid for them. The middle section was available to the alumni , whose maintenance was financed by the Pope or the bishop. The third group of the community living together in the Konvikt were the seculars , who mostly came from noble families and who paid for their education and accommodation themselves. From 1618 a new wing was built for them along the street (today Kardinal-von-Waldburg-Straße). The rooms in this building were larger with windows facing the street.

For the year 1582 there were sixty aristocrats and forty religious. The majority of the convicts, which rose to over 200 in the following years, were episcopal alumni.

management

The rector ran the entire facility. He appointed the professors and was responsible for hiring the staff. Like the Chancellor, he was appointed by the Prince-Bishop and was only subordinate to the Order Provincial. The Chancellor was the representative of the Pope and the Bishop and watched over the "catholicity". The governor was responsible for legal disputes and the prefect of studies was responsible for supervising the pupils and students. The censor managed the university treasury and collected the fees. The seminary was headed by a rain and a sub- rain , and each of the three departments of the Konvikt (for the alumni, the religious and the secular) was looked after by its own prefect.

Prince-Bishop High School and Prince-Bishop University

Study church and former University of Dillingen

After the abolition of the Jesuit order in 1773, the Augsburg bishopric took over the management of the institution and the clergy continued to teach. The subjects were: Religious teaching according to the catechism of Petrus Canisius, German, Latin , Greek , rhetoric, history and arithmetic .

While between 100 and 150 students attended the grammar school from 1773 to 1789, there were only 60 to 80 students from 1799 to 1803 due to the turmoil of the Napoleonic Wars .

Royal Bavarian High School and Lyceum

After the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss 1803 and the secularization , the rule of the Hochstift Augsburg and the last Prince-Bishop Clemens Wenzeslaus of Saxony (1739-1812) ended. On November 30, 1802, Baron von Lerchenfeld took possession of the city of Dillingen in the name of Elector Maximilian IV, later King of Bavaria Maximilian I Joseph . The university was abolished and converted into a lyceum for the training of clergy, from which the Philosophical-Theological University of Dillingen emerged in 1923 . The grammar school remained and was continued as a royal Bavarian grammar school from 1806 after the elevation of Bavaria to a kingdom by Napoleon.

In 1823/24 the high school reached its highest number of pupils with 561 pupils and in 1848 it decreased to 300 pupils. In 1849 the time of the clerical rectors ended, who until then had headed the grammar school and lyceum in personal union. French, shorthand , physics and natural history , gymnastics and swimming exercises were introduced as new subjects .

In the middle of the 19th century there was a sharp decline in the number of students. While in 1852 there were 330 students, in 1859 only 96 students attended the grammar school. It was only through the establishment of an episcopal boys' seminar that the number of pupils rose again to over 300 in the late 1870s. At the turn of the century, the number of students was between 500 and 550.

In 1871 an adjoining building was acquired, in which, in addition to other classrooms, a drawing room, a music and conference room and a teacher and student library were set up. In the school year 1900/1901 a gym was built and the sports field completed.

At the end of the 19th century, the former three-class Latin school and the six-class grammar school were merged into a nine-class humanistic grammar school . Compulsory subjects were German, Latin, mathematics, history, geography, natural history, religion, Greek, French, drawing, handwriting , gymnastics and the electives Hebrew , English, Italian, shorthand, music and swimming.

The high school continues to this day under the name Johann-Michael-Sailer-Gymnasium , which it received in 1964.

Sculpture by Johann Michael Sailer in front of the former university

Personalities

The Enlightenment was shaped by Johann Michael Feneberg (1751-1812) and Johann Michael Sailer (1751-1832), who taught from 1784 to 1794 as a professor of moral and pastoral theology at the Prince-Bishop's University of Dillingen. From 1766 to 1769 the dogmatist Joseph Mangold was rector of the college.

In 1844 Sebastian Kneipp (1821–1897) entered the grammar school in Dillingen and studied theology in Dillingen from 1848 to 1850.

The future Cardinal Walter Brandmüller also taught church history there .

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Coat of arms of the University of Dillingen . In: Joseph Haut: History of the k. Study institute Dilingen in the first hundred years, from its inception to westphäl. Peace, 1548–1648, based on the sources . Dilingen 1854, p. 118.
  2. Otto Bucher: Bibliography of the printed works of the Dillinger book printer Ignaz Mayer (1654–1668). In: Börsenblatt for the German book trade - Frankfurt edition. No. 89, November 5, 1968 (= Archive for the History of Books. Volume 62), pp. 2888–2912, here: p. 2888.