The Salem Planet Square - celebrating 40 years of the Kurt Hahn Foundation
The Kurt Hahn Foundation (KHS), founded in 1983 by the Altsalemer Vereinigung, supports the approximately 25% of scholarship holders at Schule Schloss Salem, in the spirit of Kurt Hahn. The creation of scholarships was a premise for him when he founded the school, to make extensive education possible regardless of the parents' income. An anniversary fund was created for the 40th anniversary of the foundation. Curtis Briggs, an alumnus of Salem, has with great commitment created the "Salem Planet Square", a unique square in front of the main Härlen building with five trees representing the five continents of our student body. The square will be supplemented with seating and invites students to linger and meet.
The official opening of the square will take place on Whitsunday.

You too can support the Jubilee Fund:
For more information, visit www.kurt-hahn-stiftung.de or download the detailed brochure (PDF).
Our completed projects
After more than 300 years, the time had come: for the first time, a building was rebuilt in Salem Castle. In the fall of 2017, the former grain sheds on the west wall were demolished. The new Salem Schrote now offers students from grades 5 to 10 a variety of design options:
- a large guild center with workshops for wood, metal and clay in the basement.
- a modern learning center for grades 7 and 8 on the first floor
- a 350-seat auditorium for joint events, school assemblies, theater, cabaret and celebrations on the top floor
The construction was released in December 2019. Since January 2020, classes, guilds and events have been held in the new Schrote. The first school assembly in the new premises was held on January 10, 2020.
The construction of the new Schrote cost about 5.8 million euros. The project was financed by Schule Schloss Salem gGmbH and the Trägerverein Schule Schloss Salem e.V. The Beck'sche Stiftung Berlin supported the expansion of the Guild Center with 300,000 euros.
The equipment and technology of the auditorium amounting to 225,000 euros were financed by fundraising measures.
The generous accumulation of reserves by Friends of Salem e.V. accounted for more than half of the donations required.
After years of intensive planning and preparation and due to numerous donations and the support of "Friends of Salem Association" , the school is undertaking a thorough renovation of its outdoor facilities at Salem Castle.
The new outdoor sports' facilities will include
- a natural grass surface for field hockey and other ball sports
- a basketball court
- a hockey field with artificial turf
- various running tracks
- a high-jump, a long-jump and other training areas.
All-School Sports Night
The Official Opening of the sports ground took place on the 14 of July. The students competed in mixed-year teams in hockey, soccer, beachvolleyball and basketball.
In order to produce his unique night shots, the artist JanLeonardo wandered around Schule Schloss Salem in complete darkness between the 9th and 12th of February, armed only with a flashlight and a camera. The project titled Night Views will help support our school's scholarship program.
Nighttime Dancing through Historical Rooms
As it slowly became quieter throughout the school, the students having gone to bed and the lights been turned off, work was just beginning for the Bremen artist JanLeonardo and his assistant AnnaLeonarda. As soon as it was completely dark, the artist began to move through a room with his flashlight, following a distinct choreography in order to orchestrate the image piece by piece. Depending upon the size and richness of detail in a given room, it took him up to 15 minutes for a shot. To arrange a single photograph perfectly, it usually takes several hours, if not the entire night.
Students Acted as Background Extras
Initiator of this art action was the alumnus and gallery owner Curtis Briggs, who set up the cooperative venture between the artist and Schule Schloss Salem. Creation of these very special photographs was made possible thanks to the students of the photography guild, the dedication of its leader, Christiane Hauser, collaboration with the custodian team, the management team boarding middle school Salem, and Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten. The unique images came about through the support of some students who acted as background extras. A limited edition of the artist's work was on exhibit on Whit Saturday, June 3, during the alumni gathering of the Altsalemer Vereinigung (ASV); also available for sale, the photographs provide a special way of remembering former school days. The proceeds from the sales will go to the scholarship fund of the school's Kurt Hahn Foundation.

Projects: Good Deeds Throught Art (Kreuzgang Schloss Salem)

Project: Doing good with art (Prayer room Schloss Salem)
Support for music at the Schloss Spetzgart location
After 100 years of Salem – in the year 2020 – it was a desire that, in addition to the successful music promotion at the Salem location, the opportunities at Salem College should also be improved. In the spirit of sustainability, this became a student initiative of the then school speaker Yannick P. Martin (alumnus) as well as the president of the parliament Leon Rudolf (alumnus).
Encouraging outstanding talents
In the past, musicians from all Salem locations were able to inspire both within and outside the school community. The aim of the project was to further improve the situation for musicians at Schloss Spetzgart. E-pianos were to create more opportunities for practising. Spetzgart does not have its own music complex, as the Salem and Härlen locations do. Therefore, e-pianos are the optimal solution to balance playing music and living in the boarding school.
Professional fundraising and a targeted marketing campaign quickly attracted the attention of several donors and well-known partners. Due to the corona pandemic, opportunities for musical development in the context of the project were unfortunately severely limited, but the purchase of electric pianos at the Spetzgart location was nevertheless made possible.
Schule Schloss Salem and the music department would like to express their warmest thanks.
