Friedensau Adventist University is a part of the Seventh-day Adventist education system, the world's second largest Christian school system. Located in the village of Friedensau, approximately 120 km from Berlin, the university was established in 1899, and is the oldest Seventh-day Adventist owned university in Europe. Its courses of study and degrees are accredited by the German government. Classes are offered in both German and English and the campus is bilingual. , the university had 200 students from 30 countries taking accredited German language courses, including students studying abroad for a year and transferring their studies taken at Friedensau back to their home institutions. The university is also home to a guesthouse, conference facilities, and an outdoor adventure campground, all of which attract of visitors each year. The village of Friedensau is home to the Seniorenheim retirement village.
History
In the autumn of 1899, the Seventh-day Adventist Church purchased a centuries-old mill at Freidensau, along with the surrounding village and farmland, to found its first school in Europe. On November 19, 1899, lessons began for the first seven pupils. Within the next ten years, a collection of large school buildings and living quarters emerged on the campus that still stand today and are local landmarks synonymous with Friedensau. Based on a holistic pedagogic concept, a sanatorium, workshops and a health-food factory were added, providing opportunities for both practical work experience and income for the pupils at the same time. In this way, Friedensau grew quickly to become a Missions and Industrial School which was visited by up to 250 pupils each year until the First World War. During the First World War, the War Department set up a military hospital in the buildings. It was not until 1919 that training could be resumed once more. In the following years, new courses were offered. In 1923, the school was renamed to "Mission Seminary Friedensau". In 1930, the seminary was awarded state approval for courses in home economics and business by the chief administrator of the government for the region of Magdeburg. The Nazi-era brought many restrictions, and finally the school was again closed during the Second World War. Once more, the buildings served for the care of wounded and sick soldiers, first for the German Wehrmacht and then for the Soviet Army. Through recommendations from the then Minister-President of Saxony-Anhalt, Erhard Huebener, the Soviet military administration permitted the Seminary to reopen in 1947. This made Friedensau the first church-run educational institute in the Soviet occupation zone that was allowed to resume educational activity. During the DDR-regime, the socialist government only allowed for the training of church employees. Besides the training of ministers, the seminary offered one-year social welfare work training programs. The nature and quality of such training resulted in another name change, "Theological Seminary Friedensau". Two years later, the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists accredited the Seminary as a senior college. At this time it was once more possible for Friedensau to offer training to students from other socialist states in Eastern Europe and Africa to become pastors. On September 15, 1990, the Theological Seminary received the status of a state-recognized university following a resolution from the DDRCouncil of Ministers. Since then, in addition to the Theological Faculty, a Christian Social Science Faculty has been established. Presently, besides the Diploma and Bachelor's courses in Theology and Christian Social Work, Master's programmes in Theology, Counseling, Social Work, and International Social Sciences can also be taken as well as a preparatory course for musical studies. From late 2008 on, Friedensau is the first institution to offer a concentration in Adventist Studies at the Master's level. Further degrees, for example in Music Therapy, started in 2011. There are currently approximately 200 full-time students registered in both faculties.
