Childhood and School Years @museum.de

F: Fritz Reuter's childhood is said to have been "divinely cheerful" – at least that's what he later claimed. He grew up here in the town hall with his half-sister Lisette and his two cousins Ernst and August. With his parents, he spoke the language of the educated classes – High German. With manservants, maids and when out and about, he used the language of the common people – Plattdeutsch or Low German.

M: Reuter's childhood was simple and carefree. But the freedom of rural life also has its dark side. The backward agrarian town had no decent schooling on offer. Reuter himself later commented mockingly:

M: Stavenhagen had three [...] educational institutions for the human spirit and torture institutions for the human backside, which I shall list here in ascending order: 'de Becker-Schaul', 'de Köster-Schaul' and 'de Rekter-Schaul'. [...] You could start in any of them and finish in any of them, or you could run through all three and enjoy the same benefit; for there was no question of what is nowadays called "method" in any of the three, except that in the Rector's-School, they administered the beatings according to an established method [...].

F: Reuter didn't attend any of the three schools. Instead he, his half-sister and two cousins were taught privately. His mother Johanna, his uncle Herse and tutors attended to the children's elementary education. But there was no question of systematic lessons.

M: When Fritz turned fourteen, his father sent him to the grammar school in Friedland, which was considered one of the best high schools in Mecklenburg. But young Fritz wasn't used to continuous work, and his performance was disappointing – with one exception: he displayed a real talent for drawing. His favourite teacher, Karl Horn, had an interest in politics: he'd fought in the wars of liberation and co-founded the Original Jena Student Fraternity after the victory over Napoleon's troops.

F: Fritz spent nearly four years in Friedland, after which his father sent him to a school in the town of Parchim. There were no drawing lessons on offer there, and the teachers sent regular reports to his home. Although his performance remained mediocre, Reuter passed his final exams in the summer of 1831.

M: But still: the differences between father and son had become apparent: Georg Johann was determined and hard-working and expected the same from his son. But Fritz had a restless artistic nature and loved to socialise.

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Zitat Schulen: Fritz Reuter, Meine Vaterstadt Stavenhagen, S. 62.