Fellenberg, Philip von

Philippe Emanuel von Fellenberg ( German: Philipp Emanuel von Fellenberg ; June 27, 1771 - November 21, 1844) - Swiss scientist-teacher and philanthropist, agronomist.

Born in Bern in a wealthy family, his father held an important post in the canton. He received primary education at home under the guidance of his parents, in 1790 he entered the University of Tübingen , where he studied law and philosophy. Having health problems and wanting to improve it, he took a walking tour in Switzerland and the surrounding areas of France , Swabia and Tyrol , visiting numerous villages, working with peasants and living in their homes, studying the peasants' material situation and the level of their mental and moral development. He concluded that the main cause of poverty was the lack of education or poor education, and decided that a school was needed that would provide professional knowledge and, at the same time, general personal development.

After the fall, Robespierre went to Paris and lived there for several years, in fact, on his own initiative, engaged in counterintelligence activities and trying to prevent the French troops from invading Switzerland. However, his messages were ignored by the government, and after the capture of Switzerland by the French and the disclosure of his activities, he, who was sentenced to arrest at home due to a conflict with the local elite, was forced to flee to German lands. However, he soon returned to his homeland, was rehabilitated, and then was sent to Paris, where, at the request of his compatriots, he protested against the abuses of the French authorities, but this mission ended in failure, after which Fellenberg decided to leave politics and take up the implementation of his pedagogical ideas.

Having bought in 1799 with his father a plot of land called Hofwil near Bern, he arranged there an agricultural school, a boarding school for noble children and a teacher's seminary; his main idea was to improve the education of lower classes, a “fair” education for upper classes and to unite them in a close union. He was engaged in writing agronomical essays, tried to instill in the population the ability to use the latest technical inventions, and used the Pestalozzi method in education, although he subsequently moved away from it; they twice (in 1804 and 1817) made attempts to unite their schools, but both times failed. For forty-five years, he was assisted by his wife, who ran the female part of the school. Very soon, the Hofville School gained great fame both in its moral principles and in the quality of teaching agricultural sciences: students from different countries of Europe and even from America came here; Russian Emperor Alexander I sent the Count of Kapodistrias (1813) to familiarize himself with the Fellenberg school and, having received favorable feedback about him, sent seven Russian youths to study with him. Local residents accused him of introducing machines that reduce the demand for working hands and leave many without work, but he successfully denied these allegations. After the death of Fellenberg, the school passed into the hands of his son, Wilhelm, but existed only until 1855, although it served as a model for similar institutions opened in different places in Germany and Switzerland.