Carl-von-Linde-Gymnasium Kempten

The Carl-von-Linde-Gymnasium stands in Kempten in the Allgäu region of Bavaria. It is a state grammar school with a long tradition, originally founded as a Latin school in 1806 after the secularisation of the Prince-Abbacy of Kempten. The school moved to its current site on Haubensteigweg in 1956, leaving behind the protected former school building in Fürstenstraße. Its name honours Carl von Linde, inventor and industrialist, who passed his Abitur here in 1861. The school is one of the oldest in Bavaria and has evolved from a humanist grammar school into a modern institution offering linguistic, musical and social-science streams. In 1999 it joined the European Schools experiment, and in 2004 celebrated its bicentenary. A memorial plaque remembers two former pupils executed in 1944 and 1945 for resistance against National Socialism. Since 2015 the school has run the Mittelstufe Plus pilot, later reintroducing the nine-year grammar school course. Visitors find a lively school community with language, music and social-science tracks. Pupils can begin with English or Latin in Year 5 and later add French, Spanish or Italian. The music stream offers core tuition and instrumental lessons from Year 5, while other streams start in Year 8. The school holds awards as a climate school, social school and Fairtrade school, and runs numerous clubs and theatre groups.