Kantonsschule Küsnacht, Public secondary school in Küsnacht, Switzerland
Kantonsschule Küsnacht occupies the former Johanniterhaus, the main building of a former Knights Hospitaller commandery that the canton handed to the school in spring 1834 after two years in the Seehof by the lake. The campus also holds a library, a canteen and a second older building, with a vineyard behind the main building.
Kantonsschule Küsnacht opened on 7 May 1832 in the Seehof, a house built in 1650 on the shore of Lake Zurich, with 30 pupils and Thomas Scherr as director. In 1834 it moved into the former Johanniter commandery building, and it remains the canton's oldest teacher-training institution.
The school's name recalls its origin as Seminar Küsnacht, a teacher-training institute founded in 1832. Its two profiles, musisches and neusprachliches, shape daily life: music is a major subject, and modern languages such as Italian and Spanish are emphasised. Students also brew beer in their fifth year and harvest grapes from the vineyard behind the main building for a local wine.
Entry to the school is through a competitive entrance examination called the Gymi-prüfung, which assesses German language skills and mathematical abilities. Prospective students should prepare thoroughly for this test to secure admission.
Behind the main building lies a vineyard whose grapes students harvest and turn into the school's own wine; fifth-year students also brew beer on site. The school has offered a music profile and a modern-languages profile since its days as Seminar Küsnacht.
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