One of the early forms of intercultural education was the upbringing of children by foreign governesses, who appeared on the European labour market during the seventeenth century. In Germany families of the gentry and the wealthy middle-classes began, since the eighteenth century, to copy the upbringing of princely children. They too wanted their sons and daughters to learn French at home from native speakers. Due to this high demand, French governesses could hold a monopoly in German home education of girls, until they were replaced in the second half of the nineteenth century by German resident women teachers. German governesses not only worked in their own country but also went to teach abroad. They wanted to earn money, learn foreign languages and see something of the world. After the First World War the number of governesses declined rapidly in Europe. More women teachers found jobs in schools and due to a more equal income distribution fewer families could afford to employ a governess. But though governesses are a rarity today, they have never completely disappeared from the job market and some of their methods for teaching foreign languages continue to be applied. (Contains 2 figures and 45 footnotes.)