Agria 42. (Az Egri Múzeum Évkönyve - Annales Musei Agriensis, 2006)

B. Gál Edit: Adatok a régi gyöngyösi gimnázium építés- és oktatástörténetéből

Edit В. Gál Data on the Building and Educational History of the Old Gyöngyös Grammar School The building of what was once the Jesuit Grammar School, now occupied by the János Pátzay Music School, can be found behind the town's main church, the church of St Bartholomew. From the earliest times this was the busiest and the most visited part of Gyöngyös. Already by the 17th century the council felt it necessary for the town to have a secondary school. To this end they invited the Jesuits, who opened their grammar school in 1634. From the 1740s, with an increase in the Jesuits' material resources, the order became ever keener to build their own new school building. They finally acquired a plot of land for that purpose from one of Gyöngyös's landowning families, the Forgácses. It was here that the building, formally handed over on 7th October 1752, was built. From contemporary sources we know that there were two sets of two forms who had access to three classrooms and one spacious hall where theatrical performances were held. During the course of the 18th century the wooden figures of St Ignatius Loyola and St Francis of Assisi were added to the niches on the first floor of the eastern façade of the building. The Jesuits' activities in Gyöngyös were brought to an end by the dissolution of the order by Pope Clement XIV in 1773. It was the Franciscans instead who opened the academic year in November 1776. The building, which was forever proving small in the face of ever increasing student numbers, was continually enlarged and redeveloped from the final third of 18th century to the end of the 19th century. This study provides an insight into these enlargements and the modernisation of teaching practices which took place during this period. At the end of the century both the ministry and the town felt that the construction of a completely new building capable of meeting the educational requirements of the time was becoming increasingly necessary. The new, modern grammar school went into operation in 1899, while the town hall moved into the old building which was then in the region of 150 years old. 580