Description:
This manuscript was created in 1883/1884 on the occasion of the 100th year anniversary of the German school in Suceava. Affixed to the first page is a booklet printed for the anniversary celebration. It recounts the festive events held for the anniversary and reprints the speech made by the school director, Michael Schwetz. This speech describes in some detail the founding of the school in 1784. Prior to this date there had been a small Romanian-Orthodox school and an Armenian-Orthodox school which trained the children mainly in religion. These schools were incorporated into the Stadtschule (city school) building, as it was called when it first opened, but they still operated separately, especially in terms of language of instruction. In 1815 a new building was constructed and new teachers were brought in, including, according to Schwetz ”a Jewish teacher for the Jewish children.” Later the Romanian-Orthodox school dissolved entirely and the students were incorporated into the German school. The Armenian-Orthodox school, on the other hand, separated and continued its classes in a different building as a private school. Schwetz then recalls various teachers over the years and also describes the high regard in which the school was held in the eyes of the entire southern Bukovina region. After Schwetz's speech a Romanian pupil wearing the national folk costume recited a poem praising the Habsburgs and other ceremonies honoring Maria Theresa, Josef I, and Franz Josef were held with poems being recited by four boys: a Romanian, Pole, German, and Armenian. The last page of the booklet is a fold-out page listing the names and religion of all the directors, teachers, and assistant teachers employed by the school from 1774-1884. Up until this time the staff was mostly German and Polish, though there are also Romanian, Armenian, and Jewish names. The booklet is available in full on this website. The handwritten part of the manuscript was probably recorded by the respective school director and reports on the ethnic make-up of the student body for each year, lists teachers, events in school life, and political events. The last pages of the book are set up as a staff register (not comprehensive) which includes the vital information for the teacher, their education, training, and past experience.