Our History

Mrs. Erna Lehmann establishes the Kurpfalz boarding school in Gaiberg near Heidelberg as a boarding school for 14 boys. As a single mother with little start-up capital but a lot of courage, she wants to provide her son, who is at risk of failing in the public school system, with an educational perspective.

Their idea: Small classes, learning to learn, and consistent education.

• 1962: First high school diploma at Hölderlin Gymnasium in Heidelberg

• 1963/64: Renting additional rooms and expanding to 46 places All four high school graduates of the Kurpfalz boarding school successfully complete the first Abitur examination.

• 1968: Acquisition of the “Villa Dierstein” in Bammental With 46 student places, the capacity limit at the Gaiberg location has been reached. In Bammental, the former villa of a manufacturer is for sale. Situated in the middle of a beautiful park, it offers ideal opportunities for a school and boarding school. The picture shows Villa Dierstein and the school building.

• 1969 Opening of the Kurpfalz Boarding School The Kurpfalz Boarding School opens in Bammental with 80 student places. Pictured: The “Villa Dierstein” and the school building.

In the summer of 1970, the first holiday course takes place. In the tradition of English “Summer Schools,” it offers new boarding students the opportunity to catch up on their studies and prepare for the school year. Courses are offered in German, English, French, Latin, and Mathematics. Students from other schools also use the holiday course to improve their performance, and foreign exchange students learn German.

• 1971 Helge Lehmann, son of the school’s founder, enters the management after completing his studies in psychology.

• 1977 Construction of the sports field

• 1979 First state secondary school graduation exam First participation of 10th grade students in the state secondary school graduation exam.

The school founder hands over the school to her son Helge Lehmann. Pictured: Helge and Angelika Lehmann.

An adjacent building (gatehouse) is being acquired, and girls are now being admitted as well.

Renovation and expansion of the school and boarding house building and construction of the sports hall: The school and boarding house building will be renovated and expanded. A small sports hall will be built 200 meters away from the school premises.

Mario Lehmann, grandson of the school founder, joins the management team after completing his law studies – the picture shows the Lehmann family.

In October 1992, the Lehmann family submitted a purchase application for “Schloss Torgelow” in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania to the Trust Agency. The first private boarding school in the new federal states was established. This school aims to provide intensive support for students who are exceptionally gifted.

The upper school building will be opened on Reilsheimer Street, 200 meters from the main campus. The Kurpfalz boarding school now has 130 student places.

In the summer of 1999, the construction of the “Mountain House” begins. There will be 38 spacious, modern twin rooms, living areas, and five tutor apartments.

On the former parking lot at the girl’s house, the “Glass House” is being built simultaneously: a modern cafeteria building with 200 seats, kitchen, and ancillary rooms.

The building previously used as a school and boarding school will be converted into a school. It will be expanded, remodeled, and modernized. Four floors will house 24 classrooms and specialist rooms, 4 homework rooms with integrated computer rooms, a cinema, and a new auditorium. Starting from the 2000/2001 school year, 170 boarding places will be available in double and some triple rooms.

• 2011 50th Birthday The Kurpfalz boarding school is celebrating its 50th birthday with a large celebration for all current and former students.

• 2012 Dormitory for Girls The Kurpfalz boarding school is getting an additional dormitory for girls in the upper grades and a new sports hall. The image shows the “Bammentaler Hof”.

• 2015 State-recognized substitute school The Kurpfalz boarding school has completed its transformation into a state-recognized substitute school for the types of schools Gymnasium and Realschule. Since September 1, 2015, the operator of the boarding school is the Kurpfalz-Internat non-profit GmbH. The managing directors are Helge and Mario Lehmann.

• 2019 New School Building In January 2019, we put our new school building into operation after just eight months of construction and renovated the old school building. Today, all classrooms are equipped with the latest technical standards.
• 2020 Renovation of the old schoolhouse and creation of a new mentoring program in the old schoolhouse. After the opening of the new schoolhouse, the old schoolhouse was renovated and the existing classrooms on the first and second floors were repurposed into student rooms.

• 2024: Renovation of the Mountain House In the summer of 2024, the ground floor and the first upper floor were renovated and redesigned. These areas will be used as girls’ mentoring spaces for grades 7 to 10 after the renovation. The former girls’ mentoring space in the attic is now the boys’ mentoring space for grades 7 to 9.