Ritterakademien

educational institutions in the German states of the late 16th to the 18th century that prepared the sons of noblemen for military and civil service. The curriculum included Latin, French, Italian, and often Spanish, as well as mathematics, physics, genealogy, law, history, and other subjects. Fencing, riding, dancing, and court etiquette were stressed. The Ritterakademien in Kolberg (founded 1653), Lüneburg (1655), Wolfenbüttel (1687), and Brandenburg (1704) were famous. In the 19th century, they were reorganized as Gymnasiums and cadet corps. The Ritterakademien were to a certain extent the model for the establishment of schools for the nobility in 18th-century Russia.