[1] It is amongst a handful of government supported schools specifically catering to the academically talented in Germany, along with institutions such as Pforta and the Landesgymnasium für Hochbegabte Schwäbisch Gmünd.

The linguist and theologian Christian Gotthilf Salzmann founded the school in 1784, with the intention to focus on languages, practical work and physical exercise.

Salzmann was an influential theorist in childhood education, and his treatise 'Elements of Morality' was translated into the English language by the 18th century British feminist philosopher Mary Wollstonecraft.

In the book Child of the Enlightenment,[4] Rotterdam University professors Arianne Baggerman and Rudolf Dekker stated:[citation needed] "We know a lot about the ideological basis of Salzmann's school, because he outlined it in a detailed prospectus published in 1785.

[6] Since its early days, the school was internationally known as a pioneer in education and was visited by many pedagogues and intellectuals including Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Christoph Martin Wieland.