Wilhelm-Ernst-Gymnasium

History

The Wilhelm-Ernst-Gymnasium was founded in 1712 at the behest of William Ernest, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, to replace the Stadt- und Landschule (school of the town and the region) of 1561. Among the teachers were Johann Heinrich Voss, Friedrich Wilhelm Riemer and Johann Karl August Musäus. In 1776 Weimar General Superintendent Johann Gottfried Herder took over as the director and headmaster, and was also superintendent of all the schools of the Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. From 1784, Karl August, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach permitted the Reformed congregation to use the hall for church services. By 1800 the school installed a library. In the 19th century the building served as a humanistisches Gymnasium. Growing numbers of students led to a move to a larger school building on 10 October 1887, called Goethe Gymnasium Weimar since 1991. The old building served from 1910 as the Großherzoglich-Sächsische Baugewerkenschule Weimar. From 1953, the building housed a Museum of Natural History and a Polytechnisches Zentrum, classrooms and production areas for technical teaching.

Building

The school building, in the Baroque style, was built from 1712 to 1716 next to the church St. Peter und Paul on the Herderplatz and inaugurated by state architect Christian II Richter. It bears the inscription "Soli Deo Gloria" (Glory to God alone). It is a three-storey building with a high mansard roof. The facade is highlighted by a three-axis avant-corps, crowned by a spire light. A sweeping, double flight staircase dominates the square. In 1976, the once spacious foyer, which linked the ground floor to the top floor, was closed in favor of an additional classroom, and a massive staircase was built as a steel structure with concrete steps. On the ground floor and the first floor, the building has six large classrooms and a hall with a preserved stucco ceiling. The upper floors held previously apartments for the teachers.

Later usage

The premises of were used after 1990 by a non-commercial local broadcaster, Radio Lotte, to 2008, and by the Volkshochschule Weimar. The Classical Weimar, an ensemble of the former high school, the Herder House and the church St. Peter und Paul, is currently restored for € 5,4 million from the Investitionsprogramm Nationale UNESCO Welterbestätten (National Investment Program UNESCO World Heritage Sites) of the Federal Government. No agreement for a future use was reached. One idea is to set up a Herder museum", to commemorate the work of the poet, translator, philosopher and theologian at the site of his former workplace.

Directors

Senior Deputy Vice Presidents and Directors of the high school (in order of tenure):

Johann Matthias Gesner (1691–1761), classical scholar and librarian – vice-principal from 1715 to 1729

Johann Friedrich Hirt (1719–1783), Protestant theologian, orientalist, philosopher – vice-principal from 1748 to 1758

Johann Gottfried Herder (1744–1803), poet, translator, theologian, philosopher, etc. – Director from 1776 to 1791

Karl August Böttiger (1760–1835), philologist, archaeological writer – director from 1791 to 1806

Johann Friedrich Röhr (1777–1848), theologian, author, speaker – headmaster from 1820

Hermann Sauppe (1809–1893), classical scholar, educator and epigraphist – Director from 1845 to 1856

Gustav Weiland, Director from 1856 to 1860

Hermann Rassow (1819–1907), a classicist and Aristotle researchers – Director from 1860 to 1881

Hugo Ilberg (1828–1883), a respected high school teacher – vice principal from 1861 to 1862

Ludwig Weniger, Director from 1881 to 1908

Professors

Known teachers and professors of the high school (in order of teaching time):

Johann Karl August Musäus (1735–1787), writer, philologist – 1769 Professor of Ancient Languages and History

Johann Traugott Leberecht Danz (1769–1851), German church historian and theologian – Teacher until 1798

Johann Heinrich Voß (1751–1826), poet, translator – Professor from 1804 to 1806

Franz Passow (1786–1833), classical scholar – from 1807 to 1810 professor of Greek

Ferdinand Gotthelf Hand (1786–1851), classical scholar – from 1810 Professor of Philosophy and Greek Literature

Johannes Schulze (1786–1869), Prussian theologian, scholar, educator and cultural officer – Professor from 1808 to 1812

Friedrich Wilhelm Riemer (1774–1845), philologist, writer, librarian, Goethe's secretary – a professor from 1812 to 1821

Heinrich Graefe (1802–1868), German educator – spiritual master of the grammar school

Christian Gottlob Tröbst (1811–1888), theologian, philosopher and mathematician – Professor from 1847

Otto Apelt (1845–1932), classical scholar and translator – from 1869 to 1898 head teacher or professor

Alumni

Notable students and graduates of the high school (in order of birth):

August Wilhelm Hupel (1737–1819), Baltic German pastor, writer

Friedrich Justin Bertuch (1747–1822), publisher and philanthropist

Johann Gottlob Bernstein (1747–1835), German physician, professor of medicine

August von Kotzebue (1761–1819), dramatist and author

Christian August Vulpius (1762–1827), German writer, librarian

Carl Leberecht Schwabe (1778–1851), mayor of the city of Weimar, Saxony-Weimar Councilor

Gottlob König (1779–1849), a German forest scientist – student from 1790 to 1794

Charles Benoît Hase (Charles Benedict Hase) librarian (1780–1864), a classicist, paleographer, professord

Wilhelm Martin Leberecht de Wette (1780–1849), theologian

Hieronymus Müller (1785–1861), philologist and translator

Johann Gottlob Töpfer (1791–1870), organist and composer – student from 1804 to 1808

Karl Wilhelm Göttling (1793–1869), classical scholar

Emil Huschke (1797–1858), anatomist, zoologist and embryologist – student from 1811

Johann Christian Lobe (1797–1881), composer and music theorist – student from 1804 to 1811