Philanthropinum

The Philanthropinum (from Greek: φιλος = friend, and ανθροπος = human) was a reformist, progressive school in Dessau, Germany from 1774 to 1793. It was based on the principles of philanthropinism, an educational movement developed in the German-speaking area during the Age of Enlightenment.

The Philanthropinum, or "School of Philanthropy," was founded on 27 December 1774 by the German educational reformers Johann Bernhard Basedow (1724–1790) and Christian Heinrich Wolke (1741–1825). Basedow was influenced by ideas on childhood and education as proposed by John Locke (1632-1704) and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778). At the beginning the Philanthropinum had only one teacher and three students, but numbers rapidly grew as its reputation spread beyond Dessau. Prince Franz supported the school, both financially and with his gift of the Palais Dietrich as a venue.

The Philanthropinum was, apart from Basedow and Wolke, also shaped by reformers such as Ernst Christian Trapp (1745–1818), the first Professor of Education, and Christian Gotthilf Salzmann (1744–1811). From 1779 to 1787, August Friedrich Wilhelm Crome (1753–1833) worked at the school. Artist Carl Wilhelm Kolbe (1759–1835) taught art and French at the school from 1780 to 1782 and 1782 to 1784. Basedow and Wolke tried to persuade businessman and educational pioneer Johann Peter Hundeiker (1751–1836) to teach at the school - he turned down their request, but went on to found his own school in Vechelde near Braunschweig inspired by the Dessau model. Poet Friedrich von Matthisson and artist Friedrich Rehberg also found employment here.

In 1776, Basedow stepped down as head of the institution. His successor was Joachim Heinrich Campe (1746–1818), but he quit in 1777 due to conflict with the younger teachers, and went on to found a similar school in Hamburg. Afterwards the school was run by a board of directors. In 1777, Prince Franz made parts of the Palais Dietrich available for the use of the school, and from 1780 to 1793 the school was allowed to occupy the entire palace.

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