Former Roman Catholic Grammar School of Csíksomlyó
History
The former school building was built between 1780 and 1782, today it is a children's home. It was the school of many prominent figures and several Catholic bishops, and for centuries it was one of the oldest and most important centres of Catholic education in Transylvania.
From its completion until 1911, it was the seat of the Roman Catholic Grammar School of Csíksomlyó, which then moved to Csíkszereda. In the vacant building, the Csík Private Properties ran an orphanage from 1913. During the years of communism it was a state orphanage, and in 2004 the Romanian state returned it to the Csík Private Properties. In 2008 the building was handed over for 99 years to the St. Francis Foundation of Déva, which established a dormitory for children and young people studying in Csíkszereda.
Elementary education already existed in the 16th century, next to the Franciscan monastery. The first authentic written document confirming the existence of a Franciscan grammar school dates from 1630.
The rebuilding of the school, which had been destroyed during the Turkish-Tatar invasion in 1661, was started by Father Damokos Kázmér.
The school was built with help from Rome and completed in 1669, under the abbot Father Kajoni János. At that time, the school had grammar and humanities classes, where Latin was taught, and besides the youth from Csík, students from Fogaras and Moldavia were also taught. In 1694 the school had 200 pupils.
By 1733 the new school building was built, east of the old one.
The monk teachers at Csíksomlyó wrote mainly mystery plays, religious theatre plays, which were performed by the students. The Pentecost celebrations in honour of Mary provided an excellent opportunity for this. The performances were presented on the open-air stage on the side of the Kissomlyó Hill after the procession. The Passion plays and the Good Friday mysteries were held on Holy Week. The heyday of the school plays of Csíksomlyó dates from 1720 to 1784.
In 1754, work began on a new school building, but this was abandoned for lack of funding and only resumed in 1780. Teaching began in the new school building in the autumn of 1781, and a pavilion for theatrical performances was built in connection with it. The foundation stone of the seminary to be built was laid in May 1781. On 6 January 1782 the finished building, which had one storey, was inaugurated.
In 1830, parallel to the expansion of the seminary, the idea of expanding the grammar school was raised. In 1834, Györfi Ferenc, the director of the grammar school and the head of the monastery, asked the Gubernium (Government of Transylvania) to expand the building of the grammar school at the same time as the new seminary was being built. His request was granted, and construction took place between spring 1837 and autumn 1838.
The 1848-49 Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence was also a turning point in the lives of the students of Csíksomlyó. Inspired by revolutionary ideals, the students smashed to pieces the two-headed eagle figures representing imperial power in Várdotfalva, Csobotfalva and Csíktaploca. In 1848 the school was requisitioned for military purposes.
It was only in 1851 that the school reopened, first for the elementary classes and in the monastery. The building, seized by the military, could only be gradually reclaimed with great difficulty.
In 1858, with the support of Bishop Haynald Lajos of Transylvania, music teacher Fr. Simon Jukundián founded a cantor and teacher training school in Csíksomlyó, of which he was the director for 25 years.
In 1873, thanks to the zeal of the headmaster, Imets Fülöp Jákó, the school was upgraded to an eight-form main grammar school.
In 1888, the building of the grammar school underwent a major renovation again, when the vacant seat of Csíkszék was purchased for the seminary. Thus, the south-eastern wing of the old building was extended by 14 metres. The grammar school moved to the converted wing. The north-western part was given to the teacher training institute.
Education for the 1889-90 school year began in the new building.
In 1911, the school moved to Csíkszereda, to the new, imposing Art Nouveau-style palace, the present-day Márton Áron Grammar School, built in accordance with the requirements of the time, after the Franciscans handed the school over to the diocese for maintenance. The secondary school moved to Csíkszereda functioned as a Roman Catholic grammar school until the nationalization in 1948.