In the middle of Großenhain, in the immediate vicinity of St. Mary's Church, in one of the oldest buildings of the city is the Museum Old Latin School.
It houses the city's cultural and historical collection, which is over 100 years old. The building of the Old Latin School has a varied history. Presumably, a school already existed on this site in the 14th century - in 1342 a schoolmaster from Großenhain was mentioned for the first time. Heavily destroyed in two town fires, the building was rebuilt in 1586 and 1744. After that the Latin school for boys existed until 1840. In its rooms Karl Benjamin Preuskerfounded the first public library in Germany in 1828 , two years later the commercial Sunday school. In the 19th century, the house served temporarily as a hospital, a children's custodian and a carpenter's store. In 1907 the museum was founded here. The foundation of today's collection dates back to this time, which has grown into a culturally and historically significant fund through the continuous continuation of collecting activities.
