Little or no attention has been paid to the professionalising of history teachers so far. Professionalization has never been in the focus of history didactics neither from a historic nor a contemporary perspective. Taken into account the latest developments and discussions, for which "PISA" and "Bologna" stand as catchwords, it is obvious, though, that there is a need for extended research. Therefore, the inquiry into questions concerning the area of competences - especially their training and development - is essential. It is equally important to look into the specific functions of all separate phases of the qualification process. Additionally, the classic problem of the practical relevance of contents in the first phase of teacher training must be of concern as well as the role of academic and theoretical disciplines in teacher training programmes in general. These questions are attended to in five main sections. It is also dealt with historical and contemporary images of the so-called "good teacher", the professional socialization of history teachers, the structures of education programmes for history teachers after "Bologna", specific ways of educating history teachers at university as well as a comparative survey of different European countries.