How had the Maulbronn monastery school begun?
It is the year 1559 in Württemberg. Duke Christoph, a highly educated man, succeeds with the "Große Kirchenordnung" (Great Church Order) in establishing the large Württemberg monasteries as training centers for future Protestant pastors.
For that age this was a pioneering achievement and paved the way to compulsory education. Later the monastery school then became the "Evangelische Seminar" (Protestant Seminary), the form in which this educational institution still exists today. Those who were to pursue a religious career in Württemberg visited one of these seminaries in order to earn admittance to the university. As expensive school attendance in Maulbronn was supported with scholarships, it was often possible here for poorer individuals to learn an academic profession.
What did the "alumni" (pupils) learn at the school?
The oldest diplomas, e.g. of Friedrich Hölderlin, list these subjects:
The generations of pupils of the Maulbronn Seminary include many great minds. Here are some of the most famous:
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)
The road of Johannes Kepler, born 1571 in Weil der Stadt, from his parents' farm to the world famous astronomer was not traced out in advance and was extremely difficult. At the Maulbronn monastery school he is scorned due to his rural origin. He finds no friends, but is nevertheless an excellent pupil. Johannes Kepler would have liked to become a pastor, and also had literary talent; over 60 poems he wrote in Latin and German have been preserved. His first position is as a professor of mathematics in Graz: Now nothing else stood in the way of Johannes Kepler's development as a leading astronomer. The literary and rhetorical training he enjoyed while in school is apparent in his scientific texts; they are unusually entertaining.
Friedrich Hölderlin (1770-1843)
In 1786, at the age of sixteen, Friedrich Hölderlin is accepted as a seminarist at Maulbronn Monastery. Here he experiences the joy and suffering he shares with most people his age; that of the first great love. His chosen one is Louise Nast, the youngest daughter of the monastery custodian. Hölderlin's love bears literary fruit. Maybe this relationship must also help him a little to get over the loneliness he felt among his fellow students - he does not become friends with any of them.
In the subject "Poetry" he is evaluated as very good. But his love for Louise Nast does not endure long. In May 1789, while already a student in Tübingen, Friedrich Hölderlin breaks off the relationship. He names not only his "poetic ambition" as a motivation, but also his "peculiar character". Maybe this assessment is already a foreboding for the future; the poet dies mentally deranged in 1843 in Tübingen.
Georg Herwegh (1817-1875)
Herwegh's attention was directed at the political weight of his literature. A regular journey of triumph took him through Germany with his book "Gedichte eines Lebendigen" until he was expelled from Prussia by Wilhelm IV and went to Switzerland. Incidentally, from the royalties of this publication Herwegh paid back his scholarship money to the Tübinger Stift. As with many pupils of Maulbronn, Georg Herwegh's development began in 1831 with illness. Following his recovery, the "alumnus" developed into a gifted pupil, however his rebellious nature is documented in the record of punishment of the Seminary. Many friendships united Herwegh with prominent political greats of his age. The quickly forgotten, but once very famous poet is buried in Switzerland. His epitaph reads, "Here lies, as he wished, in the free earth of his homeland, Georg Herwegh: persecuted by the mighty, hated by the slaves, misunderstood by most, loved by his family and friends."
David Friedrich Weinland (1829-1915)
Generations of Swabians primarily associate David Friedrich Weinland with his famous novel for young people "Rulaman", which describes the age of the "cavemen and cave bears" in the "Schwabische Alb" (Swabian Highlands).
However, after attending the Maulbronn monastery school Weinland decides against becoming a pastor and instead studies the natural sciences. Research commissions take the doctor of zoology from Berlin to Massachusetts to Canada, Mexico and Haiti. Whether Weinland's time at Maulbronn was important for his future development is still unclear today. However, it is certain that the seminarists were urged to move about a great deal in nature, and also undertook regular, lengthy walks in the surrounding area.
Hermann Hesse (1877-1962)
Hermann Hesse experienced the first serious crisis of his young life at the Maulbronn monastery school, which he entered in 1891 at the age of 14. He leaves the school without permission and is found on the following day. He had spent the night in an open field. As the reason for his flight was correctly presumed to lie in a difficult "state of mind", he was not punished all too severely. At the instigation of the parents of other pupils and based on the suggestion that Hermann be ask to leave the school voluntarily, he departs from Maulbronn prematurely.
Hermann Hesse's search for orientation in his life is to continue for several years. Poems he wrote are already published during his apprenticeship as a bookseller, and he begins his career as an author. He deals with his experiences at the Seminary in his novel "Unterm Rad".
(Source: Hansjörg Ziegler: Maulbronner Köpfe. 1987 Exhibition Catalog. Wilfried Melchior Verlag, 1987.)