Look for a grand, symmetrical brick building with rows of white-trimmed windows and the “Gymnasium Erasmianum” sign above the main entrance, partly framed by leafy trees right across from the hospital.
Welcome to the Erasmian Gymnasium! As you stand here, let your imagination transport you-not just through this moment, but back almost 700 years, when this school’s story began in medieval Rotterdam. Founded all the way back in 1328 as a modest parish school, this place has grown to become one of the oldest high schools in the Netherlands. That’s right, the school was already busy teaching Latin and ancient wisdom long before Desiderius Erasmus-its famous namesake-was even born. Talk about being ahead of your time!
Picture the 14th century: kids in wooden clogs, streets bustling with merchants, and a tiny classroom trying to hold back the noise of the growing city. Over the centuries, the Erasmian Gymnasium became a centre for learning-so much so, it eventually got named after the legendary Rotterdammer Erasmus himself. In the 1600s, Jacob Beeckman was the head of the school, and his brother Isaac even taught lessons here-a real family affair! Through the centuries, this school’s benches have supported generations of wannabe scholars, rebels, poets, and-believe it or not-quite a few future ministers, mayors, and artists.
Now look at the building in front of you, an impressive city monument designed by the highly respected city architect Ad van der Steur in 1937, after the school moved from its old location on the Coolsingel-right at the height of pre-war ambition. The style is sturdy but welcoming, and if you peek at the sign above the entrance, you’ll see the name in strong letters that have greeted thousands of excited (and probably nervous) pupils. Over the years, the building has grown, with extra wings and gymnasiums added in 1995 and 2003 to fit the expanding Erasmian family. So yes, if it feels big, just imagine how many heads have filled these hallways.
But it’s not just the bricks and mortar that make this place special-it’s the people. The school has produced more famous alumni than a quizmaster could handle, from 16th-century officials and governors to 21st-century pop stars, professors, and even a stand-up comedian or two. Here’s a fun twist: among the list of past pupils, you’ll find everyone from the very serious like ministers and historians, to the mischievous, and even a few rebels who probably came up with world-changing ideas in the back row.
And let’s not forget the teachers-some of the greats in their fields have inspired students here! Physicists, poets, linguists, and even a professor of insects (an entomologist, if you want to impress your friends). There’s always been a sense that every teacher and student here leaves a small mark on the city’s future.
Inside, school life is never boring. Picture a dizzying array of clubs and student-run organizations: a student council fiercely defending their lunchtime freedoms, a newspaper from 1929 run by enthusiastic teens with stories nobody-especially the school leadership-can censor, debate clubs arguing passionately, and even a meme group cracking jokes about teachers on Instagram (Don’t worry, the teachers are fans too). And outside these walls, posters for elections of the Rotterdamse Gymnasiastenbond, the school’s own student association, scatter across Rotterdam every spring. Politics, music nights, heated debates, sports competitions-there’s even a curatorium that gives out scholarships for a summer at Oxford. That’s one way to spend your vacation!
There have been moments of tension-drama over the stage lighting club almost becoming an exclusive club for boys, for instance, but the students rallied, and now it’s become a springboard for budding theatre techies, boys and girls alike. The Erasmian Gymnasium is a full-on city within a city-a place where tradition and change are always balancing on a wobbly wooden school bench together.
So if you feel a little academic energy in the air, don’t be surprised. The Erasmian Gymnasium has been mixing serious study with fun and a sense of freedom for nearly 700 years. As they sing in their ancient school song, Vivat haec societas-long live this community! And if you ever walk by during school pickup, brace yourself: that’s history in motion, every single day.
For further insights on the one of the oldest schools in the netherlands, buildings or the former teachers, feel free to navigate to the chat section below and inquire.
