The Embassy of Germany in London is the

diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually denotes ...

of Germany in the United Kingdom. The

embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a Sovereign state, state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase ...

is located at

Belgrave Square 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 ...

, in

Belgravia Belgravia () is a district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' during the Tudor Period, and became a dangerous pla ...

. It occupies three of the original terraced houses in Belgrave Square and a late 20th-century extension.

History

From 1842,

Christian Charles Josias von Bunsen Christian Charles Josias, Baron von Bunsen (; 25 August 1791 – 28 November 1860), was a German diplomat and scholar. He worked in the Papal States and England for a large part of his career. Life Early life Bunsen was born at Korbach, a ...

leased 4

Carlton House Terrace 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 ...

for the Prussian Legation. 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 ( 13 & 14 Vict. c. ''3''): this was necessary as before the passing of the

Naturalization Act 1870 The Naturalization Act 1870 ( 33 & 34 Vict. c. 14) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that amended and consolidated enactments relating to British nationality. The act introduced administrative procedures for naturalising non ...

( 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 A protecting power is a country that represents another sovereign state—the protected power—in a third country where the protected power lacks its own formal diplomatic representation (e.g., lacks an embassy or consulate). It is common fo ...

) 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 Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's third-most-populous city (after Zurich and Geneva), with ...

, Wesemann admitted that the German Embassy in London had been used as a base for the activities of the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

, the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

secret State police. In 1937, Ambassador

Joachim von Ribbentrop Ulrich Friedrich-Wilhelm Joachim von Ribbentrop (; 30 April 1893 – 16 October 1946) was a German Nazi politician and diplomat who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs (Germany), Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nazi Germany from 1938 to 1945. ...

hosted 1,000 people, including

Prince George, Duke of Kent Prince George, Duke of Kent (George Edward Alexander Edmund; 20 December 1902 – 25 August 1942) was a member of the British royal family, the fourth son of King George V and Queen Mary. He was a younger brother of kings Edward VIII and George ...

and his wife, Maria, Duchess of Kent, at the reopening of the Embassy at Carlton House Terrace which had undergone a £100,000 renovation. In September 1939, the German Embassy burned its files following the onset of World War II.

Post World War II

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 Robert Cecil Gordon-Canning (24 June 1888 – 4 January 1967) was a notable British fascist, anti-Semite and supporter of Arab nationalist causes. He was briefly married to Australian actress Mary Maguire. Background and military career Gordon ...

attracted public attention when at one of these auctions he purchased a large marble bust of Hitler for £500 (equivalent to £ today). The

Federal Republic of Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen constituent states have a total population of over 84 ...

moved its consulate and diplomatic operations to Belgrave Square, still operating as a

consulate general A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

. 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. 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 Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour majority control since 2022. Full council meetings ...

prize for architecture. In 1990, after

German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

, the

East German East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

embassy building at 34 Belgrave Square became part of the German embassy.

List of German ambassadors to the United Kingdom

Gallery

File:Plaque of German foreign missions.svg, Coat of Arms of German Foreign Missions File:Embassy of Germany in London 2.jpg, The embassy seen from Chesham Place File:German Embassy London.jpg, The Residence at Belgrave Square File:DtBotschaftGB.jpg, The Chancery around the corner on Chesham Place

References

External links

Official site

German Foreign Office
{{Diplomatic missions in the United Kingdom

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Buildings and structures in the City of Westminster Germany–United Kingdom bilateral relations organisations Belgravia