• In 1876/77 the Prussian-Rhineland reform educator, the Privy Councilor Dr. Hermann Perthes, in Davos for a cure. He decided to found a “teaching and educational institution” and to give priority to boys and young people who were recommended by doctors to stay in Davos for several years. In grateful memory of the Grand Duke and his son, the later Frederick II, he chose the name “Fridericianum” for the institution.

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• The school was opened in 1878 in the “Haus Batava”, which belonged to Willem Jan Holsboer's spa, with almost 30 students.

• In 1880 the move to a specially constructed building at Guggerbachstrasse 2 took place. The Grand Duke in particular contributed the financial resources.

• In 1882 Dr. Perthes ownership and management of the school to Heinrich Mühlhäusser (1854 -1913) and Ulrich Schaarschmidt (1849 - 1933). Perthes died in Bonn the same year. The school sanatorium was medically supervised by Dr. Alexander Spengler, Dr. Lucius Spengler and Dr. Oswald Peters, who not only determined the admission criteria, but also significantly determined the everyday life of the pupils.

• From 1909 onwards, the examinations for the so-called “one-year voluntary service” took place.

• From 1911 onwards, Dr. Hugo Bach (1875-1954) and Pastor Bruno Rüdiger (1877-1956) owned and managed the institute. Both had previously been teachers at the institute and ran the school together, which was soon known as the “Alpine Pedagogy”, until 1945.

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• From 1919 onwards, the general university entrance qualification could also be obtained at the Fridericianum.

• From 1920 onwards, the “Fridericianum” received substantial annual support from the German Foreign Office, which was supplemented by a considerable number of scholarships. At the same time, the number of students from other countries and external students from Davos increased. For this reason, the school management sought recognition as a cantonal baccalaureate school.

• In 1924 it was approved by the Small Council of the Canton of Graubünden. A year later, the final examination at the “Fridericianum” was equated with the qualification from Dutch secondary schools. It opened access to Dutch universities and the corresponding state examinations.

• Before and during the First World War, a decidedly German nationalist spirit was promoted and, above all, demanded of the students.

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• In the subsequent period of National Socialism, the two directors, Bach and Rüdiger, were neither blind National Socialist believers nor mere conformists. Based on the ideological values ​​of their generation, they wanted to save their life's work, the "Fridericianum". School operations were aligned with the requirements of the German institutions. The Hitler Youth and the “Association of German Girls” became important; on certain days the swastika flag flew on school buildings.

• In 1942 the school was sold to the German Foreign Office, albeit under the guise of a non-profit organization under Swiss law.

• On May 8, 1945, the day of Germany's surrender, the fate of the “Pädagogium Fridericianum” was sealed.

• On September 23, 1945, the Davos voters approved the establishment of a Davos middle school in the legal guise of a foundation with 818 votes to 94 (voting turnout 59%). The “Swiss Alpine Middle School Davos” (SAMD), a public, religiously neutral school, was created.