| Embassy of Germany in London | |
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| Location | Belgravia, London |
| Address | 23 Belgrave Square/Chesham Place, London, SW1X 8PZ |
| Coordinates | 51°29′54″N0°09′15″W / 51.49825°N 0.15425°W |
| Ambassador | Miguel Berger [1] |
The Embassy of Germany in London is the diplomatic mission of Germany in the United Kingdom. [2] The embassy is located at Belgrave Square, in Belgravia. [2] It occupies three of the original terraced houses in Belgrave Square and a late 20th-century extension.
| Prussian Legation Act 1850 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act to authorize the Purchase by the Prussian Minister of a Residence in England for the Use of the Prussian Legation, and to regulate the future holding of the same. |
| Citation | 13 & 14 Vict. c. 3 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 15 July 1850 |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
From 1842, Christian Charles Josias von Bunsen leased 4 Carlton House Terrace for the Prussian Legation. [3] In March 1849, the legation moved along the terrace to the larger 9 Carlton House Terrace, which was renamed 'Prussia House'. Its purchase was authorised by the Prussian Legation Act 1850 (13 & 14 Vict. c. 3): this was necessary as before the passing of the Naturalization Act 1870 (33 & 34 Vict. c. 14), only British subjects could legally own property in England.
Count Bernstorff replaced Baron von Bunsen in 1855, becoming the German Ambassador from 1867.
During the First World War, the building was occupied by the American Embassy (as protecting power) between 1916 and 1917, and then the Swiss Legation from 1918 to 1920. In 1921 the German Embassy resumed occupation.
During Hans Wesemann's 1936 trial over the kidnapping of pacifist writer Berthold Jacob from Basel, Switzerland, Wesemann admitted that the German Embassy in London had been used as a base for the activities of the Gestapo, the Nazi secret State police. [4] In 1937, Ambassador Joachim von Ribbentrop hosted 1,000 people, including Prince George, Duke of Kent and his wife, Maria, Duchess of Kent, at the reopening of the Embassy at Carlton House Terrace which had undergone a £100,000 renovation. [5] In September 1939, the German Embassy burned its files following the onset of World War II. [6]
Throughout the war, the closed embassy remained intact under diplomatic conventions. But after World War II, with Germany itself occupied and German government properties taken up by the occupiers, Prussia House was requisitioned as enemy property, furniture and the works of art were sold in separate auctions. The British Fascist Robert Gordon-Canning attracted public attention when at one of these auctions he purchased a large marble bust of Hitler for £500 (equivalent to £27,000 today). [7] .
The Federal Republic of Germany moved its consulate and diplomatic operations to Belgrave Square, still operating as a consulate general. The consulate became a fully functional embassy in June 1951, the FRG leasing the building for 99 years in 1953. In the 1960s, the West German Embassy was the site of Jewish War veterans who were protesting signs in Germany of a revival of anti-Semitism. [8]
In the 1970s, office space in the embassy was tight so an extension was erected at Chesham Place, inaugurated in 1978. It won the Westminster City Council prize for architecture.
In 1990, after German reunification, the East German embassy building at 34 Belgrave Square became part of the German embassy.
Ulrich Friedrich-Wilhelm Joachim von Ribbentrop was a German politician and diplomat who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nazi Germany from 1938 to 1945.
Konstantin Hermann Karl Freiherr von Neurath was a German diplomat and Nazi war criminal who served as Foreign Minister of Germany between 1932 and 1938.
Belgrave Square is a large 19th-century garden square in London. It is the centrepiece of Belgravia, and its architecture resembles the original scheme of property contractor Thomas Cubitt who engaged George Basevi for all of the terraces for the 2nd Earl Grosvenor, later the 1st Marquess of Westminster, in the 1820s. Most of the houses were occupied by 1840. The square takes its name from one of the Duke of Westminster's subsidiary titles, Viscount Belgrave. The village and former manor house of Belgrave, Cheshire, were among the rural landholdings associated with the main home and gardens of the senior branch of the family, Eaton Hall. Today, many embassies occupy buildings on all four sides.
Leopold von Hoesch was a career German diplomat. Hoesch began his political career in France as the chargé d'affaires in 1923. After the recall of the German ambassador in 1923 after the Ruhr crisis, Hoesch was appointed acting head of the German Embassy in Paris. There, Hoesch worked closely with German Foreign Minister Gustav Stresemann. Hoesch played an important role in the Locarno Treaty of 1924.
Carlton House Terrace is a street in the St James's district of the City of Westminster in London. Its principal architectural feature is a pair of terraces, the Western and Eastern terraces, of white stucco-faced houses on the south side of the street, which overlook The Mall and St. James's Park. These terraces were built on Crown land between 1827 and 1832 to overall designs by John Nash, but with detailed input by other architects including Decimus Burton. Construction was overseen by James Pennethorne. Both terrace blocks are Grade I listed buildings. A separate but linked cul de sac at the terrace's western end is named Carlton Gardens.
The German Embassy in Washington, D.C. is the Federal Republic of Germany's diplomatic mission to the United States. Its chancery, designed by Egon Eiermann and opened in 1964, is located in northwest Washington, D.C. As of August 2023, the German ambassador to the United States is Andreas Michaelis.
The Embassy of the United States of America in Berlin is the diplomatic mission of the United States of America in the Federal Republic of Germany. It started in 1797, with the appointment of John Quincy Adams to Berlin, the capital of Prussia. There was no permanent building for the embassy until 1930, with the purchase of the Blücher Palace. During the United States involvement in World War II, the embassy ceased operations.
Carl Werner Dankwort born in Gumbinnen, East Prussia, was a German diplomat who served a major role in bringing Germany into the League of Nations in 1926 prior to representing the German contingent in the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation, the post-World War II effort known as the Marshall Plan.
Carl-Ludwig Diego von Bergen was the ambassador to the Holy See from the Kingdom of Prussia (1915–1918), the Weimar Republic (1920–1933), and Nazi Germany (1933–1943), most notably during the negotiation of the Reichskonkordat and during the Second World War.
Wilton Crescent is a street in Belgravia, Central London, comprising a sweeping elegant terrace of Georgian houses and the private communal gardens that the semi-circle looks out upon. The houses were built in the early 19th century and are now Grade II listed buildings. The street is the northern projection of Belgravia and is often taken to fall into the category of London's garden squares.
The Embassy of Sweden in Athens, is Sweden's diplomatic mission in Greece. The mission opened in 1945 and was elevated to an embassy in 1956. Sweden also has five honorary consulates in Chania, Heraklion, Corfu, Rhodes, and in Thessaloniki
Chesham Place is a street in Belgravia, London UK, running between Belgrave Square and Pont Street. It is home to several embassies and has had many distinguished residents.
The Embassy of Austria in London is the diplomatic mission of the Republic of Austria in the United Kingdom. The embassy is located at 18 Belgrave Mews West in the Belgravia area of London, and the residence of the ambassador is located at 18 Belgrave Square.
The Embassy of Portugal in London is the diplomatic mission of Portugal in the United Kingdom. The embassy is located on Belgrave Square, Belgravia, in two separate buildings, and there is also a Portuguese consulate in Portland Place, Fitzrovia.
The Embassy of the United Arab Emirates at 1-2 Grosvenor Crescent in the Grosvenor Crescent district of London, is the diplomatic mission of the United Arab Emirates in the United Kingdom. The UAE also maintains a Consulate, Police Liaison Section & Cultural Attaché's office at 48 Prince's Gate, South Kensington, a Military Attaché's Office at 6 Queen's Gate Terrace, South Kensington and a Health Section at 71 Harley Street, Marylebone.
The Embassy of Spain in London is the diplomatic mission of Spain in the United Kingdom. Formerly known as Downshire House, the embassy is located at 24 Belgrave Square in the Belgravia area of London. Spain also maintains a Consulate General at 20 Draycott Place in Chelsea, a Defence Office at 3 Hans Crescent in Knightsbridge, an Education, Employment & Social Affairs Office at 20 Peel Street in Holland Park, and an Economic & Commercial Section at 66 Chiltern Street in Marylebone.
The Embassy of Turkey in London is the diplomatic mission of Turkey in the United Kingdom. There was an embassy of the Ottoman Empire in London dating from 1793; this was suspended in 1914 following the outbreak of the First World War and replaced by the embassy of the new Republic of Turkey in 1924. From 1901-1954 the embassy was located at 69 Portland Place before moving to its current location; however this building was kept and is currently used as the Ambassador's Residence.
The Embassy of Norway in London at 25 Belgrave Square is the diplomatic mission of Norway in the United Kingdom. The embassy is located on Belgrave Square in a building it has occupied since 1949.
Bolivia–Germany relations are the diplomatic relations between the Plurinational State of Bolivia and the Federal Republic of Germany. Both nations are members of the United Nations.
Embassies shown as main entries while Consulate Generals shown in italics. | |
| Africa | |
| Americas | |
| Asia | |
| Europe | |
| Oceania | |
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1 The German Institute Taipei is Germany's representative office in Taiwan, which functions as an informal diplomatic mission. | |
