Korntal

As Schick was 14 years old he was sent to a boardingschool in Korntal, outside Stuttgart, in close connection with the Evangelical Brüdergemeinde (Brotherhood) in Korntal. The school was named Latinschool and at this time only open for boys.

The old School at Korntal. Lithographie from 1863, Korntal Ev Gemeinde.

The pietistic group at Korntal was given a special permission by the king Wilhelm of Württemberg and formed after the same principles as the Moravian Brüdergemeinde in Herrnhut. Boys and men lived together; they practised to eat together and focused on a personal spiritual development. The brotherhood also offered vocational training as part of the education. This is the place there the young Conrad was shaped and formed.

The Evangelical Church at Korntal. Notice the clock on the top of the building. Many of Schicks buildings in Jerusalem had this clock as mark!

A priest at Korntal said about Conrad Schick: “In this young man lives a mechanical”. He also said: “He can be a teacher, but I don´t suggest that. He can be a missionary, but then it is good if the young men first learn a practical skill, for example metal working, that is the entrance to become a mechanical”. At Korntal he was educated as a locksmith. As Schick later came to Jerusalem, he made his living by selling and repairing clocks!

Missionaries constantly kept coming back from or leaving to other countries as Schick stayed at Korntal. He meet with those people and got inspiration from them. Here he also studied Latin for a period, in order to more easily learn other languages. All together he stayed in Korntal for about four years.

After a period of serious sickness he practised to work with clocks made of fine Mechanics from Messing. As he later came to Jerusalem he continued these skills. In his memories he tells the story that Bishop Gobat asked him to make a clock for a school i Nablus, and Schick wrote: “After 50 year is that clock still working”.

This boarding school was later choosed by the Swedish finance family of Wallenberg to educate and form the older boys like Knut (1853-1856), Gustaf (grandfather of Raoul) and Marcus.