Hainburg opens new academic secondary school for 51 students
Monday 7th September 2026 on 18:00 in
Austria
Fifty-one students began the school year at a new academic secondary school in Hainburg an der Donau on Monday, ORF reported. It was the first day at a Gymnasium for all of them and the first day at the new school building.
The new Schule am Wasserturm is an outpost of the BR/BRG Bruck an der Leitha. Students from two first-year classes arrived with their parents at the building, which had been under construction for several months.
“Hainburg has wanted a Gymnasium for a long time, and the school in Bruck, which I am also responsible for, is very full,” director Sabine Puchinger said. The new location will give many children from the surrounding area a shorter journey to school, she said.
Focus on natural sciences
The school will specialise in natural sciences. Puchinger said the focus was linked to a planned campus in Hainburg involving a university of applied sciences and TU Wien. The school is intended to prepare students for that campus.
In their first year, students will already take a subject called “Curious research”. English will also be introduced earlier in a range of other subjects.
The two classes will initially be taught by eight teachers. Seven of them also work at the school in Bruck an der Leitha. The school is expected to expand by two classes each year, along with its teaching staff.
Historic building extensively renovated
The listed historic Wasserkaserne building, which had stood empty for years, was acquired in 2016 by the Sparkasse Hainburg private foundation and extensively renovated. The work included new ceilings, a roof and windows, the restoration of vaulted rooms on the ground floor and a complete interior fit-out.
The renovation cost 5.6 million euros. The foundation remains the owner and is making the building available to the federal government for school operations on a long-term basis, according to a statement.
Alongside classrooms, the school has specialist rooms for technology and design, art and creative work, and music. An approximately 80-metre-long room in the attic can be used for physical education and school events. The building also includes rooms for afternoon care and a large outdoor area with a playground, green spaces and sports facilities.