Hammerschmidt Villa
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Villa Hammerschmidt became the official residence of the German President in 1951. In 1994, as part of the relocation of the German capital from Bonn to Berlin, the then German President Richard von Weizsäcker made Schloss Bellevue in Berlin his first official residence. Since that time the Hammerschmidt Villa serves as the second residence.
The villa lies in the heart of the former government district of Bonn, bordering to the north directly to the river Rhine and opposite to the zoological Museum Koenig in the south. It also neighbours the second official seat of the German Chancellor, the Palais Schaumburg, to the west.
The upper floor of the building houses the private flat for the German President while the ground floor consists of the stately rooms for the various ceremonial purposes.
Villa Hammerschmidt was build in 1860 in neo-classical style as a stately home for a rich industrialist by August Dieckhoff. It was soon redecorated in 1868 by architect Otto Penner.
Since its construction Villa Hammerschmidt was owned by:
- 1860 - 1868: Albrecht Troost
- 1868 - 1899: Leopold Koenig (his son Alexander Koenig is the founder of the "Zoologische Reichsmuseum Alexander Koenig" just opposite Villa Hammerschmidt)
- 1899 - 1928: Rudolf Hammerschmidt
- 1928 - 1945: Sale by auction and break-up into several flats
- 1945 - 1949: Confiscated by the British occupation forces in Germany following World War II
- since 1950: The German state
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