History of our School Building on Herrnstraße 21

The school building on Herrnstraße was built by Friedrich Löwel in 1881. It is one of Munich's oldest school buildings that survived the war and, as such, has a turbulent history. It survived two wars, a revolution, two kings, was draped with swastika flags, and was largely spared from bombing. After the currency reform, Munich residents collected their first 40 marks at the school on Herrnstrasse.

Prominent Munich residents such as Karl Valentin, Rudolf Mooshammer, and Konstantin Wecker attended elementary school here.

On October 2, 1882, the Herrnschule was officially opened as a school for Protestant children, the second school for Munich's rapidly growing Protestant population, after the Herzog-Wilhelm-Schule on Glockenbach. Since 1969, a special needs school has also been located here, which has transformed over time from a remedial school into a modern competence center for special needs in communication, emotional and social behavior, and learning.

Located on Herrnstraße are, in addition to grades 5-9 of our school, the Sonderpädagogischen Förderzentrum München Mitte 2, the Herrnstraße Elementary School and an after-school care center.

The Sonderpädagogische Förderzentrum, the first of its kind, provides support to teachers, educators, parents, and children regarding educational support and career guidance for children with special educational needs. It also offers professional development for teachers on diagnostics and individualized support within the mainstream school system.

History of our School Building on Kirchenstraße 13

In 1813, the so-called "Schlossschule" (Castle School) was opened on Kirchenstraße in the rooms of the former manor house. Haidhausen's population grew rapidly in the second half of the 19th century, so the existing rooms were soon completely overcrowded. A spacious new building was planned to alleviate the space shortage. In 1876, the building, designed by August von Voit d. J., was inaugurated, but this building, too, soon proved too small, as by 1881 there were already over 1.800 schoolchildren in Haidhausen.

In 1885, the school on Wörthstraße was built in the immediate vicinity. In 1890, another wing of the "Kirchenschule" was created from the former boys' home at what is now Kirchenstraße 13. In 1902, this building housed Munich's First Special Needs School.

In the following years, marked by war, the buildings were not used as schools. During the First and Second World Wars, the buildings were converted into military hospitals and troop quarters. During the Bavarian Republic, both buildings served as prisons and retreats for the Red Guards. Count Arco, seriously wounded after the assassination attempt on Kurt Eisner, was imprisoned there, as were his attending physician, Professor Sauerbruch, and the painter Franz von Stuck.

From 1935 to 1961, the special needs school was headed by Principal Erwin Lesch. During the process of coming to terms with the Nazi era, it became known that Lesch espoused the ideology of the Nazi regime.

From 1941 onward, due to extensive bomb damage, many students were evacuated throughout Bavaria as part of the Kinderlandverschickung (children's evacuation program). Some were housed and taught in nearby Freising. After the war, the two heavily damaged school buildings were extensively gutted and modernized.

In 1954, the school was reopened with a formal ceremony. The type of school had now been renamed a special needs school. A unique feature of Munich was the Turkish special education classes, which existed from 1981 to 1993.

Today, our school, the Sonderpädagogische Förderzentrum München Mitte 2, with 10 classes and a preschool, is located on the site. We share the school campus with the elementary school on Kirchenstraße, which has 13 classes, as well as an after-school care center and a kindergarten.

Since September 2015, the new building, designed by architect Volker Peterreit, has been used for morning classes by the six diagnostic and support classes and the school preparatory program. In addition, over 120 children from both schools receive lunch in the cafeteria, prepared according to the City of Munich's cook-and-chill principle.