Hugo Treffner Gymnasium was founded by Hugo Treffner on 7 December 1883. The Treffner Name originated from Austria, connected to the royal family in the 1600s. During the thirty years war the family fled to Estonia. By the end of 1884, there were a total of 65 students studying various subjects in German. The school was special for offering secondary education to peasants. At the end of the year, a prep class was opened to teach languages and Treffner became a 4-class progymnasium. In 1886 and 1887, another 2 prep courses were opened on the primary level. In 1889, the official language changed to Russian.