Templin

At the heart of the new Europe

The est is using the existing buildings of the former Joachimsthalsches Gymnasium Templin. It is located in the middle of the Uckermark lake and forest region. Both Berlin and Szczecin are just an hour’s drive away. There is an hourly train connection between Templin and Berlin. Thanks to this good connection between two metropolitan regions, the location has an excellent infrastructure.

The Joachimsthalsches Gymnasium, founded in 1607, was one of the leading schools in the German-speaking world until it was closed in 1945. The school had its roots in the Reformation and the Enlightenment. It was at the centre of educational reforms under Wilhelm von Humboldt. We see the humanistic tradition in combination with European orientation as a unique foundation on which to develop a unique and future-looking school concept for the est.

The site of the former Joachimsthalsches Gymnasium is of high architectural quality and is a designated historical monument. Constructed in 1912 on the threshold of modernism, the buildings can be used for a boarding school today once the necessary conversion work has taken place.

Professor Monika Grütters, the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, has awarded the complex of buildings the status of “nationally significant cultural monument.”

Regional Development

When at full capacity, the est will provide around 100 jobs and be an important employer in the region. It will significantly contribute to increasing the attraction of the Uckermark region and, together with its strategic partners, the school will contribute to the sustainability of the region.

The est will also be known and have an impact far beyond the region. It will be a think tank with a pan-European student body and a best-practice example for collaborative solutions in urgent processes of transformation in the different regions of Europe. The est school concept can set standards in this respect.