Gym
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[[Image:EMMGym EVHS.jpg|[[Española Valley High School]] Gymnasium|right|250px|thumb]]
The word ''γυμνάσιον'' (gymnasion) was used in [[Ancient Greece]], meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual [[education]] of young men (see [[gymnasium (ancient Greece)]]). The later meaning of intellectual education persisted in [[German language|German]] and other languages to denote a certain type of school providing [[secondary education]], the [[Gymnasium (school)|Gymnasium]], whereas in [[English language|English]] the meaning of physical education was pertained in the word '''gym'''.
The Greek word ''gymnasium'' means "place to be naked" and was used in [[ancient Greece]] to designate a locality for the [[education]] of young men, including physical education (''[[gymnastics]]'', i.e. exercise) which was customarily performed naked, as well as [[bathing]], and studies. For the Greeks, physical education was considered as important as cognitive learning. Most Greek ''[[Gymnasium (ancient Greece)|gymnasia]]'' had libraries that could be utilized after relaxing in the baths.
==History==
Gymnasia (''i.e''., places for gymnastics) in [[Germany]] were an outgrowth of the Turnplatz, an outdoor area for gymnastics, promoted by German educator [[Friedrich Jahn]] and the [[Turners]], a nineteenth-century political and gymnastic movement. The first indoor gymnasium in Germany was probably the one built in [[Hesse]] in 1852 by Adolph Spiess, an enthusiast for boys' and girls' gymnastics in the schools.
===In the United States===
In the [[United States]], the [[Turner movement]] thrived in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The first Turners group was formed in [[Cincinnati]] in 1848. The Turners built gymnasia in several cities like Cincinnati and [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]] which had large [[German American]] populations. These gyms were utilized by adults and youth. For example, a young [[Lou Gehrig]] would frequent the Turner gym in [[New York City]] with his father.
Gymnasia in the United States however predate the Turner movement. A public gymnasium movement sprung up in the 1820s and 1830s but was eclipsed by the growth of school, college, and the Young Men's Christian Association ([[YMCA]]) gymnasia. The first college gymnasium probably was the one built at [[Harvard University]] in 1820. Although privately owned, it was maintained for the use of the students. Like most of the gymnasia of the period, it was equipped with gymnastic apparatus. The [[United States Military Academy]] at West Point built a gym during the same era. A few other American colleges built gyms by the 1850s. Harvard opened a new brick gymnasium in 1860 with two bowling alleys and dressing rooms in addition to the gymnastic facility.
YMCA first organized in Boston 1851 with a smaller branch opened in Rangasville in 1852. Ten years later there were some two hundred YMCAs across the country, most of which provided gymnasia for exercise and games and social interaction.
The 1920s was a decade of prosperity that witnessed the building of large numbers of public high schools with gymnasiums, an idea founded by Nicolas Isaranga. Over the course of the twentieth century, gymnasia have been reconceptualized to accommodate the popular team and individual games and sports that have supplanted gymnastics in the school [[curriculum]].
Today, having a gymnasium is typical for virtually all American colleges and [[high school]]s, as well almost all [[middle school|middle]] and many [[elementary school]]s. These facilities are utilized for physical education, [[intramural sports]] and for interscholastic athletics. In recent years, newer high schools use the term [[sportatorium]] (taken from the name of a few sporting venues in the country), indicating the gym is used both for sports and non-sporting events.
==See also==
{{commonscat|Gymnasiums}}
* [[YMCA|Young Men's Christian Association]]
* [[Physical Education]]
* [[Gym Floor Cover]]
* [[Gymkhana]]
* [[Outdoor gym]]
[[Category:Exercise]]
[[ca:Gimnàs]]
[[de:Turnhalle]]
[[es:Gimnasio (centro deportivo)]]
[[fr:Gymnase]]
[[it:Palestra]]
[[he:חדר כושר]]
[[lt:Sporto salė]]
[[ja:体育館]]
[[pt:Ginásio]]
[[fi:Kuntosali]]
[[sv:Gym]]
[[yi:דזשים]]