Collège Saint-Michel

School in Fribourg, FR, Switzerland

46°48′26″N 7°09′28″E / 46.80725°N 7.1577°E / 46.80725; 7.1577InformationTypepublic and secular secondary school 2 (High school)MottoLaudamus veteres sed nostris utimur annis
(“We praise the elders, but we are of our time”)Established1582AdministratorAxel LoupRectorMartin SteinmannWebsitecsmfr.ch

Collège Saint-Michel (German: Kollegium St. Michael) is a Gymnasium school located in Fribourg, Switzerland. It was established in 1582 by the Jesuit order as a boys' school.^[1]

It is a public and secular secondary school preparing for university studies. It is located in the heart of the city of Friborg on Belzé hill. It is a mixed and bilingual high school (French, German) which has around 1,300 students. Alongside the gymnasium classes, the school also houses the Passerelle, an adult training course offered to holders of a professional or specialized maturity. The reputation of Collège St-Michel, founded in 1582, extends well beyond the canton of Friborg and many personalities were trained there.

Personalities

Rectors

Pierre Michel (1582–1888)
Jean-Baptiste Jaccoud (1888–1924)
Hubert Savoy (1924–1939)
Romain Pittet (1939–1952)
Mgr Edouard Cantin (1952–1971)
Abbé André Bise (1971–1983)
Michel Corpataux (1983–1989)
Jean Baeriswyl (1989–1996)
Nicolas Renevey (1996–2004)
Jacques de Coulon (2004–2008)
Matthias Wider (since 2008)

Notable teachers

Jean-Pierre Dorand
Fabrice Hadjadj
Félicien Morel
Claude Schorderet
Denis Clerc
Michel Bugnon-Mordant
Laurent Bardy
Caroline Julen

Notable alumni

Erich von Däniken, ancient astronaut theorist
Patrick Aebischer (1954– ), president of the EPFL
Abbé Joseph Bovet (1879–1951), composer
Dominique de Buman (1956– ), national councilor
Jacques Chessex (1934–2009), writer
Michel Dénériaz (1928–1999), radio host and game show
Joseph Deiss (1946– ), former federal councilor
Antoine Dousse (1924–2006), bookseller, teacher and writer
Claude Frochaux (1935), writer, publisher
Emile Gardaz (1931–2007), poet and writer
Félix Glutz, vaudois politician
François Gross (1931–2015), journalist
Pierre Hemmer (1950–2013), one of the Internet pioneers in Switzerland
Armin Jordan (1932–2006) orchestra conductor
Cardinal Charles Journet (1891–1974)
Anthony Kohlmann (1771–1836), Jesuit educator
Mgr Pierre Mamie (1920–2008), bishop
Jules Marmier (1874–1975), Swiss composer, cellist, organist and choirmaster
Georges Python, conseiller d'État, principal founder in 1891 of the University of Fribourg
Gaston de Raousset-Boulbon (1817–1854), adventurer, conqueror of the desert of Sonora (Mexico)
Count Gonzague de Reynold (1880–1970), historian and writer
Léon Savary (1895–1968), writer and journalist
Peter Scholl-Latour (1924–2014), journalist
Vladimir Serbinenko, Switzerland's first gold medallist at the International Mathematical Olympiad
Father Joseph-Marie Timon-David (1835–1842), founder of Congregation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Ernst Wilczek (1862–1948), botanist