Founding story of the 4 thalers and 16 groschen

August Hermann Francke began his work as a pastor at St. George’s Church in Glaucha, a small borough outside Halle that was characterised by social misery. Francke wanted to do more than merely distribute alms to children and young people particularly afflicted by hardship and spiritual neglect.

When one day he found the sum of 4 thalers and 16 groschen in the donation box in his parsonage, he is said to have exclaimed:

»This is honest capital, it should be used to found something worthy; I want to use it to start a school for the poor.«

This became the foundation of the Glaucha Institutions. The teaching, which began in the spring of 1695 in the cramped rooms of his rectory, was so successful that neighbouring buildings soon had to be rented. In October, the first orphans were admitted. But also citizens from Halle and further afield, as well as noble families from the Protestant part of Europe, began to send their children to Francke for lessons. Within a short time he founded schools for boys and girls from all classes.