The Casimirianum in Neustadt an der Haardt (currently Neustadt an der Weinstraße

Neustadt an der Weinstraße

Neustadt an der Weinstraße is a town located in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. With 53,892 inhabitants as of 2002, it is the largest town called Neustadt.-Etymology:...

, Rheinland-Pfalz) was a Reformed

Calvinism

Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...

 academy

University

A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

, which was founded in 1578 by Count Palatine

Count palatine

Count palatine is a high noble title, used to render several comital styles, in some cases also shortened to Palatine, which can have other meanings as well.-Comes palatinus:...

 Johann Casimir and named after him. The Casimirianum only endured five years. Today the name is used for the restored historical building that the Casmirianum occupied.

Location

The Casimirianum is in the northwest of the town center of Neustadt on the Speyerbach

Speyerbach

TheSpeyerbach is a left tributary of the Rhine in the Palatinate part of Rhineland-Palatinate. In Speyer, the river split into Gießhübelbach and Woogbach...

 river, close to the marketplace, Stiftskirche and Mariankirche.

History

After the death of the Calvinist

Calvinism

Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...

 Elector Frederick III

Frederick III, Elector Palatine

Frederick III of Simmern, the Pious, Elector Palatine of the Rhine was a ruler from the house of Wittelsbach, branch Palatinate-Simmern-Sponheim. He was a son of John II of Simmern and inherited the Palatinate from the childless Elector Otto-Henry, Elector Palatine in 1559...

, the Pious, in 1576, his son and successor Elector Louis VI

Louis VI, Elector Palatine

In the history of the Holy Roman Empire, Louis VI, Elector Palatine was an Elector from the Palatinate-Simmern branch of the house of Wittelsbach. He was the first-born son of Frederick III, Elector Palatine and Marie of Brandenburg-Kulmbach...

 restored Lutheranism in the Palatinate. In time, all professors and students at the University of Heidelberg were forced to sign the Formula of Concord

Formula of Concord

Formula of Concord is an authoritative Lutheran statement of faith that, in its two parts , makes up the final section of the Lutheran Corpus Doctrinae or Body of Doctrine, known as...

, which repudiated the Reformed confession. As an alternative university for those who refused to sign, and therefore were forced to leave Heidelberg

Heidelberg

-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...

, Count Palatine Johann Casimir – who unlike his older brother Ludwig was an adherent of the Reformed Church – created the Casimirianum.

The institution was erected in 1578/79 through the rebuilding and expansion of the "white cell," a building with Gothic

Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....

 and Renaissance

Renaissance architecture

Renaissance architecture is the architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 17th centuries in different regions of Europe, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought and material culture. Stylistically, Renaissance...

 features, which was part of the former Augustinian cloister

Cloister

A cloister is a rectangular open space surrounded by covered walks or open galleries, with open arcades on the inner side, running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth...

. The university was equipped with Partikularschule and a Paedagogium (also called the “Gymnasium illustre”) upstream to enable students to prepare for advanced studies. The university only remained in Neustadt for a few years; the faculty returned to Heidelberg already in 1583/84 during Johann Casimir’s regency during the minority of Elector Frederick IV

Frederick IV, Elector Palatine

Frederick IV, Elector Palatine of the Rhine , only surviving son of Louis VI, Elector Palatine and Elisabeth of Hesse, called "Frederick the Righteous" .-Life:Born in Amberg, his father died in October 1583 and...

.

Current situation

After its restoration in the late 20th century, the Casimirianum mainly is used today for cultural events.

The Kurfürst-Ruprecht-Gymnasium, the oldest high school in the city, evolved during the course 19th century from the tradition of Casimirianum on the basis of a Latin school. The other schools were founded over a hundred years later.