Comenius 2008/10: The Cultural and Religious Roots of Europe

The first Comenius cooperation of the Centro Grial in Valladolid/Spain, the Istituto Statale Galileo Galilei in Mirandola/Italy and the Kardinal-Frings-Gymnasium in Bonn/Germany has recently ended and we are proud to present some of the results on this website.

Apart from the highly interesting project work, we are most grateful to have founded the basis of a long-lasting partnership and friendship between the three schools, both on the level of the students and as well as of the faculty. The highly effecient and productive cooperation of the three schools culminates in the fact that the EU will sponsor a second Comenius Project in 2010-12.

Our aim is to give an insight into the present situation in Europe through a historical analysis of its cultural and in particular its religious roots. We focus on the fact that the majority of today's cultural conflicts are connected with different religions and that such a situation has existed both in Antiquity and in the Middle Ages (e.g. persecution of Christians). We also hope to show that in the past it has sometimes been possible to find solutions to such conflicts which might open new perspectives to current problems. We also deal with crucial aspects of the respective histories of all three participating countries with Italy being the root of Christian Europe, Germany being a paradigm of the clash of religions (Romans and Germanic people), and Spain illustrating the peaceful cohabitation of three world religions in the Middle Ages, but also of the continuity of Christian Europe despite the Islamic invasion. Spain is an example of a commitment to a Christian Europe. We try to thus open perspectives to the topic of immigration to Europe.

Our project work was carried out simultaneously at all three schools. During the three meetings in Valladolid, Mirandola and Bonn, we visited sights of cultural and religious interests and also locations of European interest. The climaxes of each meeting were, however, the interdisciplinary and cross-cultural work sessions at each school.