British Embassy in Berlin
The British Embassy in Berlin is the diplomatic representation of the United Kingdom in Germany . It is located in the Wilhelmstrasse 70/71 next to the Hotel Adlon in Berlin district center of the district of the same . The current ambassador is Sir Sebastian Wood .
history
As early as the 19th century, the area on Wilhelmstrasse belonged to the United Kingdom, which had diplomatic relations with the German Empire. It had previously acquired the Strousberg Palace designed by August Orth . The building was badly damaged in the Second World War and demolished in the post-war years . However, the property continued to be owned by the British state.
After the global wave of recognition of the GDR , the British government agreed on an exchange of diplomats with GDR representatives in 1973. In East Berlin , a separate embassy was opened in the building at Unter den Linden 32–34, which was state-owned by the GDR.
Embassy building
After the decision in 1991 to move the German seat of government from Bonn (see Embassy of the United Kingdom (Bonn) ) to Berlin , the British government decided to build a new embassy building at the historic location. An architecture competition was then announced, which Michael Wilford & Partners (see also Manuel Schupp ) won. The groundbreaking ceremony took place on June 29, 1998. The only street side of the building was given a large opening over two floors, which is intended to provide a symbolic insight into the message. For the facade itself, as for all surrounding buildings, an eaves height of 22 meters was observed with a high proportion of closed area. The turquoise green roof is also prescribed, which Michael Wilford implemented here as a Potemkin construction with a sloping roof; the house actually only has a flat roof.
The new embassy building was opened on July 18, 2000 by Queen Elizabeth II .
With the increased threat of terrorism after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 , the entire embassy area was temporarily closed to public access. Later, special security checks were introduced for all visitors. In addition, since 2001, Wilhelmstrasse between Behrenstrasse and Unter den Linden has been completely cordoned off from vehicle traffic.
The British embassy building is considered the first privately financed embassy both in Germany and around the world. A German company finances the legation for 30 years, an extension is possible. The winter garden and the adjacent conference rooms were rented out under the name ARTrium for seminars, conferences and gala dinners.
As it became known in 2013, a wiretapping system for cellular, WiFi and other communication data has been operated on the roof since 2000. With the system it is also possible to eavesdrop on communications between the Chancellery and the Reichstag.
Royal coat of arms on the entrance facade
Road closure to the British Embassy
Antennas on the roof of the British Embassy
See also
literature
- Lucas Elmenhorst: Can you build nationally? The architecture of the embassies of India, Switzerland and Great Britain in Berlin. Gebr. Mann, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-7861-2623-2 (also dissertation at Humboldt University 2009).
- Thomas Michael Krüger, Florian Bolk: British Embassy Berlin. Brochure (32 pages), ISBN 3-933743-36-2 .
Web links
- Website of the British representation in Germany
- Website of the British Embassy in Berlin (in English)
- Berlin Senate Department for Urban Development: British Embassy in Berlin
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hans-Georg Golz: Ordained friendship between nations: the work of the friendship society . Leipziger Universitätsverlag, 2004, ISBN 3-937209-25-5 , p. 110 .
- ↑ ARTrium , website of the event service provider in the embassy, accessed on November 28, 2010 ( Memento from September 7, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Duncan Campbell, Cahal Milmo, Kim Sengupta, Nigel Morris, Tony Patterson: Revealed: Britain's 'secret listening post in the heart of Berlin'. In: The Independent. November 5, 2013, accessed January 20, 2017 .
Coordinates: 52 ° 30 ′ 57 ″ N , 13 ° 22 ′ 51 ″ E