The Kalksburg Jesuit Secondary Grammar School And Its Polish Pupils (1856–1938)

Founded in 1856, the Kalksburg Jesuit Secondary Grammar School quickly became the signature school of the Habsburg Monarchy, as it was particularly popular among the aristocracy and lower nobility. This institution, which obtained its ‘publicity right’ in 1891, placed a great emphasis on physical education, besides education and religious formation. Their huge garden, complete with playgrounds and sports fields, created a suitable opportunity for exercise in any season. Due to its ‘convictus’ (i.e. a boarding school), the secondary school possessed a catchment area of attractions: before 1918, students from all over the Habsburg Empire – and even from beyond it – arrived to Kalksburg. Curiously, dismantling the Monarchy merely brought about a partial reapportionment, obvious in the case of Polish students, whose number dropped considerably. The secondary school remained mindful of cultivating education in the students’ mother tongue, as well, so those who were ready for it could also learn the Polish language.