Toftum Skole
Toftum Skole ( German : "Toftum School") is a 1784 built and fully restored school building on the Danish North Sea island of Rømø ( Röm ). It is part of the Kommandørgårdens ("Kommandeurshof"), a branch of the Danish National Museum , and is considered the smallest and oldest school in Denmark . The thatched roof house consists of just one classroom, which at times could accommodate up to 40 students, as well as an anteroom and a room for heating material, which at the time was primarily intended for peat.
history
In 1784, residents in the villages of Toftum and Juvre held meetings to plan the construction and operation of a school, which was completed that same year. The prosperity that the island's captains brought to Rømø made it possible to meet the costs. The teacher was initially rewarded by the parents with money and natural goods (such as a warm lunch every day). Since the first teacher, Captain Peter Nielsen Wirth, was the owner of the farm himself, payment in food was later waived. He taught for 36 years until 1820.
Smaller children or students with fewer lessons could be enrolled as “half” (halve) or “quarter children” (kvarte børn) and thus had to pay lower taxes. In turn, the boys had to bring heating material such as wood, heather and peat, which was used to warm up the classroom, while the girls took turns cleaning the classroom.
The Toftum Skole was used for school operations for 90 years until the move to a different and larger school in 1874. The building is now freely accessible as part of the Danish National Museum.
literature
- Svend Jespersen, Inger Tolstrup: National Museum Kommandørgården på Rømø . Ed .: National Museum. 2001, ISBN 87-89384-74-1 , Toftum Skole, p. 22nd ff . (Danish).
Web links
- Toftum Skole - en af Danmarks leastste skoler . National Museum on the Toftum Skole (Danish)
- Sønderjysk Skolemuseum (PDF; 2.8 MB) South Jutland School Museum (Danish)
Coordinates: 55 ° 9 ′ 55.1 ″ N , 8 ° 33 ′ 20.1 ″ E