What if these walls of the Stift-Grundschule could talk? The Stift-Grundschule in Dortmund has a history that stretches back centuries. It began long before many other schools. The school’s story started in the 14th century.
In 1339, Konrad von der Mark founded the Clarenberg Monastery. By 1558, the Stift-Grundschule was first noted as a school within the Clarenberg Monastery. Around 1775, a separate Catholic school was established. This school was free. Children from poor families received education without payment. Wealthy women donated to support it. An Evangelical school was founded in Hörde in 1622.
The two schools joined in 1818. They separated again in 1820. The Catholic community transformed the Stifts-Brauhaus into a schoolhouse. After ten years, the building became dilapidated. Catholic students then studied in the town hall until a new schoolhouse was built. It was funded by donations and named “Am Stift”.
As industrialization increased in Hörde, the schoolhouse became too small. A new schoolhouse was constructed on Bahnhofstraße in 1858/59. This building also quickly became inadequate. In 1873, the community purchased land “Auf dem Schilde”. They constructed the Schildschule. It received an expansion in 1896. The Schildschule separated from the Stiftschule in 1898/99.
The city of Hörde took over the Catholic school’s expenses in 1893. Previously, the Catholic community had paid them. The school became a municipal institution. By 1909, the Stiftschule had 1404 students. The old school was too small. A new Stiftschule was built on the former Lenkeschen Hof. This was near the old building. Both buildings were used. They housed 22 classrooms. After some classes moved to the Schildschule, 16 classes remained. These held 981 students. In 1910, the first special education class was set up in the school’s basement.
Hörde became a suburb of Dortmund in 1928. This gave the school a new owner. The Stiftschule became a community school in 1939/40. For a short time, it was renamed Carl-Peters-Schule. Teachers and students built an air raid shelter in the school’s basement in October 1939. On May 5, 1943, a major bombing hit the school. The top four classrooms collapsed. The old Stiftschule was destroyed by bombs the following year.
The children of the Stiftschule were evacuated to southern Germany on June 27, 1943. They were housed with their teachers in five different villages in the Black Forest. They stayed with farmers and in guesthouses.
In 1947/48, the Stiftschule reopened with its original name. It had 13 classes and 668 students. The first books and notebooks were available from 1948. The school landscape changed in 1967. The old eight-grade elementary school ceased to exist. From then on, there was the elementary school with grades 1 to 4.
In 1968/69, the school had 336 students in 10 classes with 9 teachers. The “new” Stiftschule from 1909 became too small. Construction of the new school building “Am Bruchheck 47” began on October 1, 1972. On January 17, 1974, the children and teachers moved from the old building to the new school building. However, this building was also too small for 20 classes with 636 students. Two fourth grades had to be outsourced.
The redistribution of the school district in the school year 1975/76 eliminated the lack of space. Today, the Stift-Grundschule continues to educate children. Its address is Am Bruchheck 47, 44263 Dortmund. The phone number is 0231 4773390. The website is stift-grundschule.de. Britta Hausherr is the head of the school. The Stift-Grundschule has seen many changes. It remains a vital part of the community.