Bartning was the son of Otto Bartning, from Mecklenburg, a merchant in Mazatlán, Mexico, and Hamburg. After completing his Abitur in 1902 in Karlsruhe, Bartning enrolled in the winter semester at the Königliche Technische Hochschule in Berlin (the forerunner of today's Technische Universität). He set off for an 18-month world tour in March 1904 (older sources incorrectly claim this journey was from 1902–1903), after which he settled down to complete his studies in Berlin and Karlsruhe. At the same time as studying, he began to establish a practice as an architect in Berlin from 1905. Bartning left his studies without graduating in either 1907 or 1908 (the sources do not agree).