After the establishment of a regular church hierarchy in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1881 the archbishop Dr. Josip Stadler made the Jesuits responsible for opening a secondary school in Travnik. The firs collaborator with the archbishop was Erich von Brandis, an earl’s son and scientist. The gymnasium in foundation already began work in 1882. In a very short period of time, it became the most excellent secondary school institution among the Southern Slaves. It was a multiethnic and multi-denominational school, attended by up to five hundred students. Many generations of scholars, priests, and experts of various professions graduated from the Travnik gymnasium, Unfortunately, in 1944 the Partisans and the communist government drove off the Jesuits and the seminary student, and the building and all the possessions were soon nationalized. The Travnik District, after man discussions and mediations, returned one third of the structure to the Church, where the Archbishopric again opened the Catholic Educational Center, giving it the name “Petar Barbaric”. He, as the most distinguished student of the Archdiocesan Gymnasium, died on the 15th of April 1887, with a reputation for saintliness. That day is celebrated as School Day. In 2002, two schools are active in the Center, elementary and secondary, with 45 educators who teach students, and foster coexistence, democracy, the learning of foreign languages, information science, and ecumenical understanding.
