In various European countries, student caps of different types are, or have been, worn either as a marker of a common identity, as is the case in the Nordic countries, or to identify the wearer as a member of a smaller body within the larger group of students, as is the case with the caps worn by members of German , or student groups in Belgium.
Belgium A number of student caps have historically been worn in Belgium. The calotte is worn by students at Roman Catholic universities. The penne is worn by students at Liberal or non-Catholic universities in Brussels and Wallonia. The bierpet and clubpet are caps in the Couleur tradition.
Calotte
The calotte originates from the skullcap worn by the Papal Zouaves around 1860.
The calotte is cylindrical, made from velvet and astrakhan (pelt of newborn lamb). The color of the top is bordeau red for the universities of Brussels, Leuven, Louvain-la-Neuve and Namur, white for the University of Ghent and emerald for the University of Liège.
In the front of the calotte are stripes representing the Belgian flag (black, yellow and red) and stripes representing the colors of the city or the university where the calotte has been received. At the back of the calotte, the faculty of the student is represented by a color and a symbol, with if needed an additional symbol to determine the speciality. Golden stars around the calotte represent the number of years that the student has studied successfully (if a year has to be retaken, a silver star will represent it). In addition to that, a number of official and personal pins will be added to the calotte, all representing something about its owner examples include: Official position in a student organisation (above the considered year’s star) Hobbies and occupations (cardplayer, partyer...) Character (patriotic, lazy...)
The calotte is awarded after a rite of passage called Corona (from Latin crown, for the shape of the assembly) by numerous student unions called Ordres, Cercles and Régionales to hundreds of students each year. Requirements to get the calotte vary, but always include a minimum time spent on the given campus, a knowledge of the calotte, Latin formulae and student songs.
Penne
Like the calotte, the penne ("klak" in Dutch) is awarded only after a student-organized initiation ceremony. The number of gold stars represent the number of years of study, with silver stars representing years that were failed and re-done. For years of study before the initiation (if any), the stars are not placed centrally, but instead off to the side of the head. In Brussels the colour of the band around the edge represents the faculty in which they study, with a different colour for each faculty. The hat is additionally extensively decorated as the student sees fit. At the Université libre de Bruxelles, the student's official nickname is spelled out in brass pins at the back of the rim of the hat.
France
In France, students have worn a black beret called a faluche since 1888.
German-speaking countries
In Germany, members of student societies wear various forms of caps as part of their attire. Common types of caps are Stürmer, Tellermütze and Tönnchen.
Nordic and Baltic countries In the Nordic countries, student caps were first adopted as a common mark of recognition by the students from Uppsala University on the occasion of a Scandinavian student meeting in Copenhagen in 1845. In subsequent years, similar caps were adopted by the students at the other Swedish university (Lund) and by the students in Denmark, Norway, and Finland. Caps of the same type are known to have been used by German students since the early 18th century, and it is possible that the original impulse came from Germany.
Denmark
In Denmark, the student caps (studenterhue) are the last remains of the old school uniform of the University of Copenhagen . They came in two colours: black for the winter uniform (in the 19th century with black jacket and long black trousers) and white for the summer uniform. The caps are worn by students who have completed an upper secondary level education. The student cap is made of linen with a black brim and is supplied with a band and a red and white cockade with a badge. The band color and badge vary after which exam it represents.
When this school uniform vanished in the late 19th century, the two caps came to denote two different kinds of studentereksamen: the classical-linguistic exam with the black student’s cap and the white for the modern language and mathematical exams, both with a Bordeaux-coloured band.
When the student cap came out, it was connected only to studentereksamen (STX) which at that time was the only upper secondary level education there was, and was connected to a very high status, because very few people graduated. From the 1970s three other upper secondary level educations were made. Higher Preparatory Examination (HF), Higher Commercial Examination Programme (HHX), and Higher Technical Examination Programme (HTX). From about 1990 there has also been student caps for other educations, including 10th grade and SOSU. More variants of the caps are still being developed with special coloured cords and badges, because more educations want their own cap.Danish wikipage about Danish student caps
Traditions There is a long list of traditions with the Danish student cap. They have, of course, been changed and will vary from place to place. Here are a few:C.L. Seifert (student cap rules). Retrieved 01-30-2015. It is bad luck to try on a student's cap before completion of the last exam. This can be counteracted by jumping over the cap backwards 3 times. It is traditional to write the grade given in the last exam in the middle of lining of the student's cap. Classmates and friends write in the lining. The student cap can be marked with notches, cuts and so on, in connection with the "rules" of the student cap. For example, if the student sees a sunrise, they can cut a triangle on the sweatband, and if the student goes streaking in a field or farm, they can cut out a corn symbol. There are taunt songs connected with the rivalry between the different educations, for example between Gymnasium and HF: "There is only one cap and it's red – and if it's blue it's way too easy to get" or HTX to STX "Hvis den er rød, er den ikke mere værd end brød" (translation: "If it's red, it's not worth more than bread".
Upper secondary level educations with caps Picture of all the different student caps
Education Duration Cord Badge Studentereksamen (stx)STX-student (regular student) 3 years Bordeaux Maltese cross Higher Preparatory Examination (HF)HF-student 2 years Light blue Maltese cross Higher Commercial Examination Programme (HHX/HH)HHX-student 3 years Blue Caduceus Higher Commercial Examination Programme (EUX)EUX-student 2+2 years Black Maltese cross Higher Technical Examination Programme (HTX)HTX-student (technical student) 3 years Dark blue “HTX” International baccalaureate (IB)IB-student (international student) 2 years Bordeaux with international flags Maltese cross STX + 1-year HHX 3 years + 1 year Bordeaux (top) and blue (bottom) Caduceus HF + 1-year HHX 2 years + 1 year Light blue (top) and blue (bottom) Caduceus HTX plus 1-year HHX 3 years + 1 year Dark blue (top) and blue (bottom) Caduceus
Other educations with caps - for folkeskole and career aimed educations
Education Duration Cord Badge 10th grade (FS10) 1 year Green Maltese cross Higher Commercial Examination Programme basic studies 2 out of 4 years Dark purple Caduceus Farming schoolsEducated farmer 3½ years Green Maltese cross PGU 1 year and 7½ months Orange Maltese cross SOSU-helper (social and health) 1 year and 2 months Light purple Maltese cross SOSU-assistant (social and health) 2 years and 10 months Bordeaux (top) and blue (bottom) Maltese cross Hairdresser 4 years Pink Maltese cross HTX plus 1-year HHX 4 years Yellow Maltese cross
The cross is not a Christian badge. It is modelled after the maltese cross of the Order of Dannebrog and thereby symbolizes the tie between the student and the state. However, students may opt for alternative badges, for example: Star of David for Jews Crescent moon for Muslims Maple leaf for atheists and other religious persuasions A red sun on a white background, for Greenlanders A treble clef A piece of a puzzle (fair trade student cap) Hammer and sickle for socialists and communists was available up until 2016
Estonia
In Estonia, student caps are popular symbols of academic institutions and student organizations, and are worn not just by university students but also by school children as part of their school uniform. Most caps are made of wool felt or velvet, and have the same basic shape of a Nordic student cap or a mariner's cap with a black beak but with a different cockade, cap badge and colors, depending on the affiliation.
All students enrolled at a university are entitled to wear a standard student cap which has a white crown, a black band, and a black beak. At the front of the band is a metallic cockade depicting the temple of Apollo. The students that are members of traditional, German-type fraternities and sororities which have couleurs, generally opt to wear caps in the colors of their organizations. As most of the couleurs are tricolors, the crown of the cap is made in the "top" color of the tricolor, and the band divided horizontally in middle and bottom colors. The center of the crown is embroidered in a contrasting color with the zirkel of the organization or related symbols.
The uninitiated, novice members of fraternities and sororities wear unicolor caps, turquoise in the Estonian Students' Society, black in other corps. To distinguish between different organizations, a metal pin in the shape of a zirkel of the organization is worn on the left side of the cap band.
Finland
The Finnish student cap (ylioppilaslakki) is similar to the Swedish model. The Finnish student cap has an appearance similar to the Swedish version, but instead of coloured fabric cockade, it has a metallic, gold-colored cockade depicting the lyre of Apollo, the insignia of the University of Helsinki. The cap was introduced in its present form in the 1870s. Until the 1950s, the university students usually wore the cap during the whole summer holiday of the university, from Walpurgis Night till the end of September. Nowadays, the cap is used mostly during 1 May and in academic ceremonies and occasions. The cap is worn by all Finnish high school (lukio) graduates who have completed the Finnish matriculation examination.
Until 1917, the matriculation examination was the entrance exam of the University of Helsinki, which meant that all high-school graduates were, at least formally, students of the University of Helsinki. In memory of that period, all new student cap have the cockade of the student union of the University of Helsinki. In many Finnish universities, the student union recommends that the students change the cockade to a university-specific one.
In the late 19th century, the language strife between Swedish- and Finnish-speakers divided the Finnish academia. The size of the cockade was used to signal the student's opinion to the language question: the Swedish-speaking students wore a cockade with a diameter of 22 mm, moderate Finnish-speakers a 16 mm cockade and radical Finnish-speakers a 14 mm cockade. Even today, the Swedish-speakers use the 22 mm cockade, while the graduates of Finnish-speaking high schools use a 16 mm cockade.Fredrikson Oy. Ylioppilaslakin historiaa (graduation hat history). Retrieved 8-20-2008.