Latin School, Leiden

Latin schools were quite common throughout 17th-century Europe. Forerunners of today's grammar schools, they had classes taught solely in Latin. The aim was to provide preparatory courses for the university.

The Latin School in Leiden is a national monument, primarily due to the fact that among its students, at the time, was none other than Rembrandt van Rijn. Rembrandt attended the school from 1616 to 1620 and left without graduating. Whilst here he had learned to sketch, under Henricus Rieverlinck, his first art teacher.

A son of hard-working parents (his father was a miller, a middle-class profession in the 17th century), Rembrandt was their youngest child, for whom a career in art was not particularly envisaged. Luckily for us, though, Rembrandt did not choose a life of grinding grain, not even to make beer.

The Latin School building on Lokhorststraat dates from 1599-1600 and was designed in modern Renaissance style, with a high-rising stepped gable with widening on the right side. The entrance gate is in Tuscan style.

After the Latin School, the Stedelijk Gymnasium Leiden occupied the building until 1883, followed by other educational institutions after that. In 1982, the building was thoroughly restored and rented out to offices.

Presently, it is closed to visitors; however, you can still get your portrait sketched by Rembrandt van Rijn himself here. All you need to do is look in through the ground-floor window where you will see the brush strokes appear on the canvas, as if by magic. How cool is that! And if you had your sketch made, you can download it the following day.

Opening times:
Every day, from 09:00 to 17:00