Friedensau Adventist University will soon celebrate its 125th anniversary. Founded in 1899 as a missionary and industrial school, it today continues the tradition as a state-recognized educational institution under the auspices of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Ten Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees can be pursued in the schools of Social Sciences and Theology.

A number of special anniversary events will be held in Friedensau throughout the year to celebrate the occasion. The opening event took place on Sunday, January 14, 2024, in the university library. Dr. Johannes Hartlapp, the foremost expert on the history of Friedensau and a church historian who has been involved with the institution for many years, read some sequences from the Friedensau Chronicle, which is currently still in production and circulation.

Next event will take place on Sunday, February 11, at 4 p.m. The university library will open its doors to visitors of the "125 Years of Friedensau" exhibit. Large display walls, divided into decade panels, will show the growth and changes in Friedensau from its foundation to the present day.

History of Friedensau

Friedensau Adventist University has been a place of education since 1899. On November 19, the institute that preceded the university, the Industry and Mission School, commenced operations with just seven students in very basic conditions. The school was housed in an old mill on the Ihle River.

The next ten years saw the construction of an ensemble of large teaching and residential buildings, which still define the landscape of the campus today. A sanatorium, workshops, and a food factory were also built, in line with the school’s holistic pedagogical model. These facilities provided both a practical teaching opportunity as well as a way to earn money. Before World War I, up to 250 people per year made use of the training opportunities offered.

During World War I, the Ministry of War set up a military hospital in the buildings. It was not until 1919 that training could be resumed, and it expanded in subsequent years with new courses: home economics school, preparatory school for nursing, secondary-level courses in science and technology, and business and childcare courses. In 1923, the name of the institution was changed to Friedensau Mission Seminary. In 1930, the seminary received state accreditation from the administrative district officer of Magdeburg for its home economics and business courses.

The Nazi period brought many restrictions, culminating in the closing of the seminary during World War II. Again, the teaching buildings were used for the care of sick and injured soldiers, first by the Wehrmacht (“Defense force”), then, from 1945, by the Soviet army.

Through the intercession of Erhard Hübener, minister-president of Saxony-Anhalt, the Soviet military administration allowed the school to reopen in 1947. This made the Friedensau Seminary the first and only church training facility to be allowed to resume its teaching operations in the Soviet occupation zone.

During the German Democratic Republic (GDR) period, the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) government allowed training of church employees only. In addition to training for pastors, there were one-year courses for deacons. In 1981, the high standards and quality of the training led to the new name, Friedensau Theological Seminary. Two years later, the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists accredited the seminary as a senior college. Starting in the 1980s, students from other socialist states of Eastern Europe and Africa could be trained as pastors in Friedensau.

On September 15, 1990, the Theological Seminary became a state-accredited university, following a decision by the Council of Ministers of the GDR. Later, a School of Social Sciences was established alongside the School of Theology, which has offered diploma and Master’s courses in theology since 1992.

Today, Friedensau Adventist University, as an academically-oriented, church-run university, awards university qualifications. Friedensau is an established place of scholarship and has research collaborations linking it with institutions in several continents.

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The original version of this story was posted on the Inter-European Division website.