Leibniz Gymnasium - Potsdam, Germany
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member Bernd das Brot Team
N 52° 22.541 E 013° 07.902
33U E 372822 N 5804467
A school named after the great German mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
Waymark Code: WMRK57
Location: Brandenburg, Germany
Date Posted: 07/02/2016
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member Outspoken1
Views: 5

In ancient Greece, a Gymnasium was an educational and sporting institution. While the English language reduced the word to just a place for physical exercise, the opposite happened in the German language, where the word is used only for an educational institution. The German Gymnasium is the most advanced of the three types of German secondary schools, preparing students for higher education.

The Place

The Leibniz Gymnasium in Potsdam is one of the largest schools in the capital of the German state of Brandenburg.

The Person

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716) is mostly hailed as a mathematician, as one of the two discoverers of calculus and as the refiner of the binary number system, which today is the foundation of virtually all digital computers. But Leibniz was also a philosopher and an engineer.

Leibniz was a true "Renaissance man", a Polymath, a universal genius, equal to Galileo and da Vinci.

The Mural with his picture in front of the Leibniz Gymnasium displays one of his most famous quotes:

"Beim Erwachen hatte ich schon so viele Einfälle, dass der Tag nicht ausreichte, um sie niederzuschreiben."
"When I woke up this morning, I already had so many ideas, that the day wasn't long enough to write them all down."

One of these ideas made him more famous and popular in Germany than any of his mathematical breakthroughs:

When Leibniz was custodian of the Royal Library in Hannover, he did research on durable military rations and introduced biscuits as a staple item in army food. 150 years later, in 1891, the Hannover based food company Bahlsen named one their products after the genius.

Today, the Leibniz-Keks is one of Germany's favorite cookies and the school is - somewhat disrespectfully - nicknamed the Cookie-Gymnasium.

Year it was dedicated: 1996

Location of Coordinates: Name Sign & Mural

Related Web address (if available): [Web Link]

Type of place/structure you are waymarking: School

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