Organization & History

Steinmühle – School & Boarding School

The Steinmühle – School & Boarding School is an independently operated high school with a mandatory full-day program and an attached boarding school in the Cappel district of Marburg. The school was founded in 1949 in Cappel in an old mill and the adjacent farm and residential buildings. This explains its name. The Steinmühle began with 123 students at that time.

Over the years, the program has continued to evolve. The 2019–2020 school year marked the launch of the newly founded “Steinmühle Bilingual Elementary School,” featuring a flexible transition phase in grades 1 and 2—an additional program on campus. This was followed by the launch of the International High School track, which is designed for graduates of the Bilingual Elementary School but also accepts students from outside the school. Currently, 900 students attend Steinmühle, 100 of whom live in the boarding school.

Steinmühle operates a daycare center on its campus for children ages 0–3. Priority in assigning spots is given to Steinmühle employees.

Steinmühle Marburg e.V.

The school is operated by the nonprofit organization Verein Steinmühle Marburg e.V. It is registered in the Marburg Local Court’s register of associations under number VR 730.

The Board of Directors: (as of June 20, 2026)
Chairman: Egon Vaupel
Vice Chairman: Gerhard Müller
Managing Director: Dirk Konnertz

Members of the School Association: (as of June 20, 2026)

Andreas Bartsch
Frerich Buurman
Gisela Buurman
Johanna Buurman-Rogalla
Daniel Deidl
Angela Dorn-Rancke
Björn Gemmer
Bernd Holly
Dieter Jöllenbeck
Stephan Kersten
Brigitte Kettner
Dr. Gerhard Pätzold
Dr. Bernd Schweitzer
Jasmine Weidenbach
Dr. Barbara Wieder
Bianca Zenker

Steinmühle gGmbH

The non-profit organization that operates the boarding school is Steinmühle gGmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Steinmühle Marburg e.V. It is registered in the Register of Associations at the Marburg Local Court under HB 8376.
Dirk Konnertz is the managing director with sole power of representation.

History of the Stone Mill

The Name The Buildings The School Structure Organizer and Director

Our educational institution was founded in Cappel in an old mill; it was initially called “Landschulheim Steinmühle” and has been known as “Steinmühle – School & Boarding School” since 2018.

Gerhard Buurman (1904–1987), as director of the rural boarding school, and Joseph Müller (1885–1965), as principal of the high school, founded the institution in 1949. In 1951, the old mill building was expanded and put to use. This was followed in 1954 by the Bremerhaus, in 1958 by a gymnasium, a boathouse, additional buildings, and recreational facilities. Finally, the Westfalenhaus was established, where the first girls were housed.

The Forum, built in 2006, houses the student library, music and group rooms, and a large auditorium. In 2010, the “Centrum 5/6” was built as a building exclusively for grades 5 and 6. In January 2019, the new middle school building, called “Atrium 7-10,” was opened. It offers 12 classrooms for grades 7–10, a group room and storage room for each grade level, a large multipurpose room, a kitchen, and a teachers’ lounge. This was followed by the renovation of the main building, including the cafeteria, as well as the addition of another floor to Centrum 5/6 for the bilingual elementary school.

In 1978, the school began operating on a full-day basis. In 2006, Steinmühle became an expanded full-day school with a support system for all grade levels.
At the start of the 2019–2020 school year, the newly founded “Steinmühle Bilingual Elementary School” launched with a flexible transition phase for grades 1 and 2. This was followed by the launch of the International High School Track, which is designed for graduates of the Bilingual Elementary School but also accepts students from outside the school.

In 1955, the Steinmühle was granted the status of a state-recognized, privately operated school.
In 1962, Buurman founded a nonprofit school association to serve as the school’s governing body. Shortly thereafter, Georg Gaßmann assumed the chairmanship.
In 1965, Gerhard Buurman stepped down from the management of the boarding school and handed over day-to-day operations to his son, Gert-Ulrich Buurman, who led the Steinmühle Country School until 1999.
Effective in 2024, the assets of Landschulheim Steinmühle GmbH & Co. KG were transferred to the Schulverein Steinmühle Marburg e.V. To ensure the school’s organizational and operational continuity, the association established a nonprofit limited liability company (GmbH).

After several other predecessors in the position, Björn Gemmer now heads the school and Anke Muszynski heads the boarding school.
Dirk Konnertz has been the managing director of the Steinmühle Marburg e.V. school association since 2013. Since 2024, he has also headed Steinmühle gGmbH, the operating company responsible for the property as well as the boarding school, cafeteria, bistro, riding school, and hydroelectric power plant.

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If you’re interested in learning more about the history of the Steinmühle, we recommend our nearly 190-page chronicle (A4 format): *
: 1949–2024—75 Years of the Steinmühle* (
). There, you’ll find text sources and photos that will give you a comprehensive overview of our facility.
The chronicle costs €25 and can be purchased at schule@steinmuehle.de.