During the 20th century it was used as barracks initially by the German Army (Bismarck Kaserne) and then after WWII as a US military base with nuclear Pershing II missiles stationed nearby, which were eliminated in 1990.

School building, boarding houses and teachers' flats are situated in the recently renovated barracks while the canteen and a gym were newly built on the former parade ground.

The Landesgymnasium für Hochbegabte is dedicated to facilitate the positive development of its highly gifted students' talents and aptitudes.

It is guided by the motto of William Stern, the psychologist who coined the term intelligence quotient: With this maxim, the Landesgymnasiums' students shall pledge themselves to their talents and the associated demand to contribute to the formation of a responsibility elite (germ.

Not only the intellectual capacity is to be supported; the school puts also high emphasis on the holistic personal development of its students.

For this reason, besides the accelerated and enriched classes, the 'Fundamentum:, the school offers a wide variety of extra-curricular activities, the so-called Addita.

Thereby, the Landesgymnasium offers important opportunities to live democratic forms of cohabitation and the acceptance of responsibility.

Lastly, those applicants who master the first steps are invited to spend two days living in the boarding houses and to work together in groups on different projects that assess both intellectual potential and social competence.

In foreign languages and mathematics from year 7 to 10, lessons are divided into different sets that can be attended by the students according to ability not to age.

In this part of the school life students have both the opportunity to get new inspirations as well as intensifying their knowledge in areas of special interest.

It enables students from the Landesgymnasium as well as from the other Gymnasiums of Schwäbisch Gmünd to conduct first research work, for example in a laboratorium accredited for Genetic Engineering.