About Us

The Humboldt-Institut was founded in 1977 by Mr. Norbert Güthling. While he studied at university, he sent German students abroad to England and France. Because he was unhappy with how the stays were planned and organized in the host countries, he decided to do it better himself and, with partners, founded the Humboldt-Institut.

Since then, the aspiration of the Humboldt-Institut has always been to offer the best German courses and to guarantee fast and effective learning for all students. We have been pursuing this approach for more than 45 years and have had the privilege to welcome more than 85,000 students from over 160 countries to our schools. This makes the Humboldt-Institut one of the largest and most experienced language schools in Germany for German courses.

From a single program center at Ratzenried Castle, which nowadays serves as the administrative headquarters, the Humboldt-Institut has grown to a network of 12 schools, of which four — Berlin-Mitte, Constance, Lindenberg and Bad Schussenried — are open year-round.

The Humboldt-Institut is named after Wilhelm von Humboldt, the Prussian reformer for education, a linguist and brother of the naturalist Alexander von Humboldt. Like Humboldt, we follow a holistic concept: students learn German, use the language daily in their interactions with each other, and are completely immersed in German life and culture.

Therefore, we offer our German courses almost always as packages including everything: accommodation, full board and leisure program. This way our guests don’t have to worry about anything and can fully concentrate on their German language acquisition.

What is special about the German language courses at the Humboldt-Institut?

Small classes, active use of the language, transparent performance checks, a carefully coordinated system of classes, homework and exams, as well as the environment of consistently German-speaking, German-learning and German-living — these all, combined with a varied program of cultural and leisure activities, are the cornerstones for our successful language training!

As opposed to other language schools, the Humboldt-Institut works with its own curriculum and can draw on more than 45 years of experience. This offers many advantages:

Fast and effective learning success
Appropriate learning content for each age group
Holistic training in all areas of the German language
Above-average success rates at standardized exams like the TestDaF
High degree of student satisfaction

The Humboldt-Institut offers German courses for all age groups and language levels. Our students include individuals, families, groups and executives.

Business references

Companies and organizations from a variety of fields have chosen the Humboldt-Institut to provide intensive German courses for their employees. Below you will find some examples. We are happy to provide you with an individual offer for German courses that suit the needs of your employees.

What our students have to say about Humboldt

Here you can read what our happy customers have to say about the German courses of the Humboldt-Institut:

„ My time in Berlin opened many doors for me.“

Laura, 23

„ The atmosphere and the intensive course are very good.“

Tair, 15

„ This institute has been one of the best experiences, I’ve had during a summer vacation. “

David, 17

„ Thanks to this course I have improved my German.“

Chiara, 18

Memberships & cooperations

The Humboldt-Institut is a member of the FaDaF (Fachverband für Deutsch als Fremd- und Zweitsprache), the umbrella organization for German as a foreign or second language. In Berlin and Constance, we have recognized test centers for the TestDaF (Test Deutsch als Fremdsprache), which serves as a linguistic requirement for foreign applicants who wish to study at a German University.

In Berlin we also offer the TestAS (Test für ausländische Studierende, i.e. the standardized scholastic aptitude test for foreign university students).

In our course centers in Berlin, Constance and Bad Schussenried the German language exams of telc (The European Language Certificates) on different levels from telc Deutsch A1 Junior to telc Deutsch C1 Hochschule are offered. The Berlin and Constance schools are both certified as competence centers for the telc exam.

The Humboldt Institute is a member of the FDSV (Association of German Language-Tour Operators), a consortium of the leading German language-tour operators and language schools who commit themselves to the strict quality guidelines of the FDSV – based on the European Language Travel Standard DIN EN 14804. The German courses and course locations of the Humboldt-Institut have been examined according to detailed criteria and fulfill all the requirements and guidelines of the FDSV.

As the first German member of Green Standard Schools, a global association of language schools, the Humboldt-Institut Lindenberg is committed to the sustainable protection of the environment. In addition to reducing the ecological footprint of language travel, an important goal is to incorporate the concept of sustainability into the classroom to promote students’ ecological awareness.

Awards and prizes

The German courses offered by the Humboldt-Institut regularly receive prizes and awards, for example the Star Award “German Language School” from StudyTravel Magazine or the UED Award from the Association of Turkish Educational Consultants in the categories “Best Summer School Germany” and “Language School Germany”.

The German courses of the Humboldt-Institut regularly receive prizes and awards, for example the Star Award “German Language School” by StudyTravel Magazine for the best German language school or the UED Award of the Association of Turkish Educational Consultants in the categories “Best Summer School Germany” and “Language School Germany”.

By winning the StudyTravel Star Award “German Language School” five times, the Humboldt-Institut was admitted to the ST Super Star Hall of Fame. The Star Awards are presented every year in London by StudyTravel Magazine, a professional journal in the field of international education and language travel. Around 3,000 language travel professionals from more than 60 nations honor the best language schools worldwide, and the Humboldt-Institut is proud to be part of this family.

These awards are not only a reason to celebrate, but also proof of the satisfaction of our customers with the excellent quality of our German courses and motivation to continue to offer as many children, teenagers and adults an ideal environment to learn German and get to know Germany even better!

ST Star Award Best German Language School 2020/21

UED Uluslararası Eğitim Danışmanları Derneği - Best School of 2019 in Germany

ST Star Award Best German Language School 2019

UED Uluslararası Eğitim Danışmanları Derneği - Best Summer School of 2018 in Germany

Our staff

Norbert Güthling
President

Lennart Güthling
Managing Director

Manuela Parpart
Personal Assistant to the Managing Director

Kim Kluckhohn
Academic Director

Kathrin Heiden
Personal Assistant to the Academic Director

Björn Rosebrock
Head of Personnel Department

Bernd Thutewohl
Personnel Assistant

Zsolt Toth
Head of Education DaF

Tobias Langenstein
Marketing Director

Peter Eitelhuber
Web Design and Graphic Design

Julia Güthling
Head of Booking Office

Janine Löffler
Deputy Head of Booking Office

Olga Bodenmiller
Booking Office

Heidi Eff
Booking Office

Sandra Einsle
Booking Office

Gitta Fröhler
Booking Office and Dunning

Mia Holzmann
Higher Education Counseling

Sophie Kirschner
Booking Office

Katja Kluckhohn
Booking Office

Adrian Kuqi
Booking Office

Miriam Geisler
Youth Guest Houses

Volker von Gossler
Youth Guest Houses

Andrea Braun
Accounting

Galina Huft
Accounting

Bettina Bentele
Payroll Accounting

Zsuzsa Patonay

Jens Faber
Property Manager

Christian Beuschel
Head of IT

Your contact

For all questions concerning our course offerings or for booking a German course our staff at the booking office will gladly assist you:

Humboldt-Institut e.V.
Schloss Ratzenried
88260 Argenbühl
Phone +49 7522 9880
info@humboldt-institut.org

We can be reached Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm CET. Apart from German and English, our staff members also speak French, Polish, Spanish and Russian.

Questions in writing will be answered in German or English.

We are looking forward to hearing from you!