Das Königliche Pädagogium

Education was a central concern for August Hermann Francke (1663–1727) in his reform project on the outskirts of Halle, which later became known as the Francke Foundations. To this end, he established not only an orphanage but also schools for all social classes and educational levels. The Pädagogium, founded in 1695 and granted a charter by the Prussian King Frederick I (1657–1713) in 1702, served as the foundations’ elite school. Here, students from noble and wealthy bourgeois families were to receive a comprehensive and practical education. The goal was to educate young men who could—and indeed were expected to—fulfill the roles intended for them in society in the spirit of pious improvement and renewal.
This publication examines the Pädagogium through various thematic focuses: elite education and school organization, teacher training, early modern school architecture, and, as an exemplary case, botany instruction. The publication also serves as the companion volume to the cabinet exhibition of the same name, which was developed in collaboration with history students from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (duration: June 9, 2026, to April 4, 2027). The extensively illustrated “List of Exhibits,” supplemented with additional explanations, documents this exhibition in detail and provides further impetus for research on this important educational institution at the Francke Foundations.

This book is published in German.