Description
The Volkshochschulen (vhs) are the public adult education centres in Germany: 815 centres with about 2,630 branches, most run by towns and districts. They offer affordable courses in languages, computing, health, cooking, arts, politics and school-leaving qualifications, open to anyone from 16. They are an alternative to expensive private courses and coaching, and to online course platforms that sell subscriptions.
The first ones opened after the First World War, and the 1919 Weimar constitution first wrote their support into law; the national federation, the Deutscher Volkshochschul-Verband (DVV), dates from 1953. Each vhs is independent, run by a municipality, a district or an association, and funded by the state, the towns and districts, course fees, donations and federal or EU programmes. Courses usually last from one to fifteen weeks, and many vhs offer evening classes for the Hauptschulabschluss, the Mittlere Reife or the Abitur. They also teach almost 45 % of the federal integration courses for immigrants.
Most of the teaching is done by about 175,000 freelance teachers, two thirds of them alongside another job. Since a 2022 federal social court ruling, the pension insurer has examined whether such teachers are really self-employed, and some vhs have stopped courses; a transitional rule now runs until the end of 2027. In February 2026 the federal interior ministry froze new places in integration courses, a freeze lifted in May. More than 780 vhs use the shared vhs.cloud platform for online and hybrid courses.
Strengths
- Affordable courses in almost every German town, open to everyone from 16.
- A huge choice, from German as a foreign language and school qualifications to pottery.
- Real teachers and learners in the same room, plus online courses on the vhs.cloud.
Weaknesses
- Popular courses fill up fast, and prices and reductions differ from one vhs to the next.
- Most teachers are freelancers on modest fees, and the dispute over their status has led some vhs to cancel courses.
- Integration and language courses depend on federal budgets, which were frozen for several months in 2026.
Who it is for
Adults in Germany who want to learn something new close to home, newcomers learning German, and people catching up on a school qualification.
Sources
- Volkshochschule: DVV, Selbstständigkeit, Integration, vhs.cloud, checked November 2026
- Wikipedia: Volkshochschule