Athenaeum Stade

The Athenaeum Stade is a gymnasium, or grammar school, in the Hanseatic city of Stade.HistoryMiddle Age and early modern periodIn a written source from 1393, students of St. George's Premonstratensian monastery are mentioned for the first time. In a slightly more recent source, this monastic school is also called St. Jürgen's School. It educated sons of the clergy and over time also admitted sons of the townsfolk of Stade during the Middle Ages, who were to receive an advanced education. Many university students from that time also came from Stade. Due to the Reformation, the convent of St. George was dissolved and by about 1540, the convent school became a municipal latin school.In 1588, the four-grade latin school converted to a seven-grade gymnasium, which was called the "Athenaeum" for the first time in 1635. Its first principal was Reiner Lange, who later became Mayor of Stade. Besides Latin, Greek, Hebrew, philosophy and theology were taught. Students from all over Northern Germany came to the Athenaeum. It was able to compete with schools from Bremen and Hamburg. In the early 17th century, the school experienced a period of prosperity, with about 300 students and a new building.