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Schule Birklehof

Logo: birklehof.de4

Private boarding school and gymnasium school in Germany

Birklehof School (German: Schule Birklehof) is a progressive educational boarding school and grammar school with a holistic approach located in Hinterzarten in the High Black Forest in Germany, approximately 25 km from Freiburg. It is a private coeducational secondary school (German: Gymnasium). Currently, the school has approximately 230 students, 170 of whom are boarders who live on campus.2 It was founded by Kurt Hahn.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1932Founded1
  • HeadquartersHinterzarten, Germany1
  • Websitewww.birklehof.de
  • Legal formRegistered association (eingetragener Verein)1
  • Kind of organizationNonprofit organization1
  • LEI391200Z0LE1VEBFRPD473
  • StatusActive3
  • LEI statusIssued and current3
  • Registered addressBirklehof 1, 79856 Hinterzarten, Germany3
  • Registered withLocal Court Freiburg, VR 3603

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Hinterzarten Birklehof 1020265
Photo: Flominator ( talk ), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons6

Birklehof School (German: Schule Birklehof) is a progressive educational boarding school and grammar school with a holistic approach located in Hinterzarten in the High Black Forest in Germany, approximately 25 km from Freiburg. It is a private coeducational secondary school (German: Gymnasium). Currently, the school has approximately 230 students, 170 of whom are boarders who live on campus. The school was established by educator Kurt Hahn in 1932 and from the beginning accepted girls and boys. Under the Nazi regime, Hahn was forced to emigrate to Scotland where he founded Gordonstoun School as well as later Outward Bound, Round Square and the United World Colleges.2

The story

Founded by Kurt Hahn in 1932.1

Birklehof was founded in 1932 by German educator Kurt Hahn. The old Birklehof is a grade-listed farmhouse dating back to 1550. In the early 1920s, a villa was built on the Birklehof estate by a German industrialist. The estate was then given to Hahn for his school. Hahn, after being driven from Germany by the Nazis, went on to found Gordonstoun in Scotland in 1934 and Atlantic College in 1962. It is also a sister school to the more famous Schloss Salem, founded by Hahn in 1920. In 1946, it was reopened by its then head, German philosopher Georg Picht.

From Wikipedia’s article on Schule Birklehof, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5

Leadership

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The school is in the postal district of Hinterzarten, although much of the building lies on the territory of neighbouring Breitnau. The building Studio 1 lies on the boundary and is thus used occasionally for joint council meetings between the two municipalities which, according to municipal rules, must take place on their own soil.

From Wikipedia’s article on Schule Birklehof, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5

Timeline

  1. 1932Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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    Company websiteSchule Birklehof logo
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