page_title: Gisela Gymnasium
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Gisela Gymnasium / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Gisela Gymnasium main building viewed from courtyard
context_page_description: The Gisela-Gymnasium München is a secondary school in Munich, Germany and belongs to the mathematical-scientific category of gymnasia but also has a modern languages branch. The school is named after its patron, the Archduchess Gisela of Austria who resided in the nearby Leopoldschlößchen with her family during her time in the city and played a significant role in local social and political events of the time.
  It has regular exchange programmes with schools in England, France and Italy
context_section_description: The original school was designed by the architect Cajetan Pacher in a Neo-Renaissance style and contained 23 classrooms, a sports hall and a period school botanical garden. It first opened on 21 September 1904 following increasing demand by the population for new secondary schools to alleviate the oversubscribed existing schools in the area. It was one of three new schools that were built in the area and originally classified as a Kreisrealschule (District Realschule). It initially had 273 students spread across 4 years and 10 teachers. Student numbers increased quickly and by 1911 the school had over 700 students. Due to increasing need for additional space, the school was extended for the first time in 1911, only 7 years after it was first opened. In 1920 the school achieved the additional status of a Seminarschule (Teacher Training School) and has been involved in the training of new teachers since.
  During the World War I, the school was used to house the 1. Pionier-Einsatzbatallion (military engineer operational battalion), forcing the school to conduct a large number of classes in alternate locations. At the same time, a large number of students took an active role in the war either by volunteering for military service or by getting involved in other activities to aid the war. Towards the end of the war the school was then used as a military hospital.
  The period following saw the establishment of first student councils and an increase in the number of subjects taught, including French and English. As the school continued to develop, it was re-designated a Staatliche Realschule (State Realschule) in 1924 and an Oberrealschule (upper realschule) in 1928.
  Official records from 1933 onwards must be read in the light of the rise of Nazism but show an increasing politicisation of the students and influence on the operations of the school at every level. This ranged from student member membership in Nazi organisations such as the Hitler Youth and the Jungvolk to impacts on the curriculum and political indoctrination of the students. The school continued to operate normal classes until 1942 but from the onwards suffered increasing disruption. Year 8 was cut in 1943, classes were merged and many of the youngest students were sent to the countryside. The remaining students (as young as 11) increasingly were drafted into anti-aircraft defence and fire services in and around Munich. At the end of the war, almost 200 students had been killed and the building severely damaged.
  After the end of the World War II, the school had to be rebuilt and resumed limited operations from December 1945 onwards with classes of up to 53 students, with many classes held outside the school wherever rooms were available. Parents, teachers and students unofficially carried out initial emergency work to stabilise the building and clear it from rubble. Permission for rebuilding was granted in 1946 and student number increased again despite the limited resources and ongoing rebuilding of the school and full operation only resumed in 1948. Rebuilding finished in 1955 with the addition of a two-storey sports hall.
  The school gradually introduced the Kollegstufe system between 1971 and 1973 and again re-classified as a Gymnasium of the mathematical-scientific branch in 1965. An additional branch of modern languages was added in 1987, adding Latin, Spanish and Italian to the curriculum.
  Student numbers fluctuated heavily in the post-war period, dipping from its peak of some 1300 students in the 70's to just over 600 in the 90's only gradually to recover and stabilise eventually at about 800 students with some 60 full-time teaching staff. Composition of the student body also changed with increasing numbers of students from Aussiedler, migrant and immigrant background.
  In spite of the dip in student numbers the school suffered from chronic overcrowding, not least because when the school was rebuilt after the war the original floor plan was broadly retained. But as a municipal school, the Gymnasium is funded by the City of Munich and does not receive any regu
caption: The central building viewed from the courtyard
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