Athénée de Luxembourg

Athénée de Luxembourg
"Innovation comme tradition"
Location
Luxembourg City Luxembourg
Coordinates	49°37′12″N 06°01′51″E / 49.62000°N 6.03083°E / 49.62000; 6.03083
Information
Type	State school
Established	1603
Founder	Jesuit Order
Principal	Joseph Salentiny
Campus size	0.2 km² (0.1 sq mi)
Campus type	Campus Geesseknäppchen
Website	http://www.al.lu

The Athénée de Luxembourg (English: Luxembourg Athenaeum), is a high school situated in Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. Throughout the school's history of more than 400 years, the name was changed repeatedly. It's nowadays commonly called Stater Kolléisch or De Kolléisch, and is the nation's oldest school still in existence.

History

Jesuit Origins

The school was originally founded in 1603 by the Jesuit Order, and was located next to the Notre Dame Cathedral, in the Ville Haute quarter. It was modeled after the Jesuit school in Trier. After the Suppression of the Society of Jesus by Pope Clement XIV in 1773, the school was renamed as the Collège royal, and was put under auspices of the clergy. Furthermore, the school's curriculum was reformed and expanded.

Secularization

The Athénée de Luxembourg in 1828

In the course of the French Revolution and the political changes that followed, notably the Napoleon Regime, the school was reorganized according to French educational systems and renamed several times: École centrale (1795-1802), École Secondaire (1802-1808), Collège municipal (1808-1817).

In the course of the 19th century, the curriculum was expanded and modernized.

Second World War

When Luxembourg was occupied by Nazi forces in World War II in 1940, the school was forcibly Germanized, renamed as Gymnasium mit Oberschule für Jungen, and the French language was forbidden. These policies were met with considerable resistance. Infamously, when the Germans dismantled the Gëlle Fra memorial, several hundred of the school's students protested. 2 Professors and 76 students of the Athénéé lost their lives during the war.

New Building

After the Second World War, the premises became too small, and the school was relocated in 1964 to Hollerich quarter, in the south-west of the city. Since the Athénée moved to this location, other schools have moved to the site as well, creating Campus Geesseknäppchen, just to the north of the terminus of the A4 motorway. The old site of the city Athenaeum currently hosts the National Library.

In 2003, the school celebrated its 400th anniversary with a series of events and the publication of a four-volume study of the school's rich history. The school's official motto is 'Tradition & Innovation', a phrase that the reflects the institution's continuous emphasis on scholarly excellence, the respect of humanist traditions and the desire to stay innovative.

Since 2007, Joseph Salentiny is the principal of the 'Athénée de Luxembourg'.

In 2010 gained the status of an IB World School, and henceforth, includes an International Baccalaureate program.^[1]

Notable alumni

The Athénée has many notable alumni, including six Prime Ministers of Luxembourg, one Prime Minister of Belgium and one Prime Minister of France. Former pupils include:

• Jean Asselborn, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Immigration.
• Josy Barthel, chemist, Minister for Transport, and Olympic gold medalist.
• Victor Bodson, European Commissioner and Righteous Among the Nations.
• Robert Brasseur, founding member of the Liberal League.
• Xavier Brasseur, founding member of the Socialist Party.
• Heinrich Johann Nepomuk von Crantz, physician and botanist.
• Paul Eyschen, Prime Minister of Luxembourg.
• Gaspard-Théodore-Ignace de la Fontaine, Prime Minister of Luxembourg.
• Jean-Bapiste Fallize, first Vicar Apostolic of Norway.
• Luc Frieden, Luxembourgian Minister of Justice.
• Pierre Frieden, Prime Minister of Luxembourg.
• Anne Kremer, tennis player.
• William Justin Kroll, metallurgist and inventor of the Kroll process.
• Joseph Kutter, Expressionist painter.
• Eugène Jungers, Governor-General of the Belgian Congo.
• Émile Mayrisch, industrialist.
• Nicholas Muller, United States Representative from New York.
• Joseph Jean Baptiste Neuberg, mathematician who discovered the Neuberg cubic.
• Jean-Baptiste Nothomb, Prime Minister of Belgium.
• Émile Reuter, Prime Minister of Luxembourg.
• Jacques Santer, Prime Minister of Luxembourg.
• Robert Schuman, Prime Minister of France and founding father of the European Union.
• Emmanuel Servais, Prime Minister of Luxembourg.
• Félicien M. Steichen, American Professor of Surgery and pioneer in the development of Surgical staples.
• Batty Weber, journalist.
• Antoine Wehenkel, President of the Chamber
• Sosthène Weis, painter and architect.
• Nik Welter, writer and minister of education.

Notable staff members

• Léon Bollendorff, philologist and President of Chamber of Deputies.
• Michel Engels, painter.
• Jean-Baptiste Fresez, painter.
• Joseph Kohnen, writer.
• Laurent Menager, composer and conductor.
• Alain Meyer, French teacher and President of Luxembourg's Council of State.

School principals^[2]

Gallery

• 

  1686 Architectural plan of the Jesuit precursor of present-day Athénée de Luxembourg

• 

  Architectural plan of the Jesuit college Athénée de Luxembourg and the Jesuit church in the Notre-Dame street.

• 

  The Athénée de Luxembourg in 1828

• 

  1940-1945 Pro Patria Memorial table for fallen alumni

Literature

• 400 Joer Kolléisch (éditions saint-paul, 2003) (a comprehensive history in four volumes, written in French).
  • Vol. I  : Du Collège des Jésuites au Collège Municipal 1603-1815 (287 pp.)
  • Vol. II : L'Athénée et ses grands Anciens 1815-1993. (477 pp.)
  • Vol. III: L'Athénée aujourd'hui et demain. (269 pp.)
  • Vol. IV : Hommage à l'Athénée. (314 pp.)
• Diederich, Paul: Athenäum 1932 - 1946, Wohnort und Schule (Association des Anciens de l'Athénée, 2001).
• Métamorphoses de l'Athénée, 1603 - 1989 (Luxembourg, 1989).
• Association des Anciens de l'Athénée: Kolléisch's Jongen am Krich, Lëtzebuerg, November 2011, 570 S. ISBN 978-99959-729-0-5
• Haag, Emile: Les jésuites et leur collège: renforcement de l'identité catholique entre 1603 et 1773 (Ss 180-193); Lëtzebuerg (Éditions Guy Binsfeld), 2011; 576 Säiten (ill.); ISBN 978-2-87954-235-5

External links

• Athénée de Luxembourg official website
• The school's history (in French)
• Association des Anciens de l'Athénée (Alumni Association)

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Athénée de Luxembourg.

Coordinates: 49°36′15″N 06°06′39″E / 49.60417°N 6.11083°E / 49.60417; 6.11083