Akademisches Gymnasium Innsbruck

The Akademisches Gymnasium Innsbruck is a public gymnasium grammar school in Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria. Founded in 1562 by the Jesuits in the course of the counter-reformation, it is the oldest school in Western Austria and one of the oldest schools in the German-speaking world. History 16th – 17th Century At the beginning of the 16th century, Emperor Maximilian I. intended to establish a latin school in Innsbruck, which would grant access to education for everyone. However, it took almost fifty years until his successor Emperor Ferdinand I. entrusted the Jesuits under Petrus Canisius with the creation of a church, college and latin school in 1562. It finally opened on 25 June of the same year with 71 pupils (including aristocrats and former pupils of the city's parish school), making it the second oldest Jesuit school in Austria. Until 1575, classes took place in the "Neues Stift" (New Monastery) and afterwards in the building of the Jesuit College. Today, the former hosts the folk art museum (Volkskunstmuseum). In 1606, a new school building was erected that facilitated adequate rooms for the rising number of students. It was, however, only in 1660 that the school and the Jesuit convent were completed and the Jesuit Church was finally dedicated. Today, this set of buildings, planned by Georg Anton Gumpp, and expanded subsequently, hosts the theological faculty of the University of Innsbruck.