Villa Lemm
The Villa Lemm is 1907-1908 in English built country-style villa , whose name is the first owner Otto Lemm relates. It is located in the Berlin district Gatow of Spandau .
The villa served as the residence of the commander of the British Sector of Berlin between 1945 and 1990 and is still considered to be one of the most beautiful and important upper-class estates in Berlin.
Villa Lemm has been privately owned again since 1995 . It is also a listed building monument .
Construction phase (1907–1908)
On behalf of the well-known Berlin shoe polish manufacturer Otto Lemm, the villa was built as a waterfront property on the western bank of the Havel between 1907 and 1908 and has covered a total area of 24,000 m² since 1913.
The villa was created in the typical English country house style according to the plans of the architect Max Werner and was designed and built by the Spandau construction company Paul Florian as a two-storey building with an appealing high-rise mansard roof . What is striking is the symmetrically structured garden façade, which includes a protruding veranda that has a terrace in front of a gable on the upper floor . The ground floor is again decorated with sloping bay extensions and also has a terrace with an outside staircase .
The entrance to the property is an extension in front of the northern facade. The main entrance is via a gatehouse parallel to the street.
The property is in the tradition of the English landscape gardens of the late 19th century and represents the change from the former village of Gatow to a modern villa suburb of Berlin. The main horticultural work was carried out by the Berlin tree nursery Späth .
Use by the Lemm family (1908–1928)
With the completion of the representative property, the entrepreneur and manufacturer Otto Lemm, his wife Clara and their two children moved into the Villa Lemm, which is still named after him today.
The family was close friends with the executing architect Max Werner.
Lemm made a name for himself above all as director of the Charlottenburg chemical factory Urban & Lemm and was a manufacturer of well-known brands such as Urbin .
Between 1912 and 1913, Lemm had numerous additions made to his property, which have left their mark to this day. After an extension of the property, a garden and terrace area based on the Northern Italian model or in the neo-renaissance style , adorned with elaborate sculptures and sculptures , was created according to the plans of the garden architects C. W. Köhler and Carl Kempkes from the Späth tree nursery .
In addition, a palm house, a boathouse , a greenhouse , a farm house, but also a water basin , a tennis court and its own bowling alley were built .
Lemm died unexpectedly on October 18, 1920, just a few weeks before his 53rd birthday. As early as 1917, according to the plans of his friend Max Werner, he had a mausoleum built on the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Cemetery in Berlin-Westend , in which he was finally buried.
Clara Lemm lived in the villa until 1928 and finally sold the property to her doctor and pathologist friend János Plesch . She herself moved into the newly built Villa Clara Lemm in Berlin-Gatow, which currently houses a day-care center. There she spent the last years of her life.
Use by the Plesch family (1928–1933)
In November 1928, the Hungarian- German pathologist and physiologist János Plesch, who was a professor of internal medicine at the time , moved into Villa Lemm, which he only used as a weekend and holiday home.
Plesch was a great lover of art, science and music, which led to the Villa Lemm becoming a center of attraction in social life.
Many personalities who were friends visited the property from then on, including Max Slevogt , Emil Orlik , Arthur Schnabel , Fritz Kreisler , Josef Grünberg, Fritz Haber , Max Liebermann , Oskar Kokoschka , Max Reinhardt , Marlene Dietrich and Arturo Toscanini .
Plesch had classic men's rounds regularly gathered in Villa Lemm in order to devote himself to the “common interest of Russia” - as he wrote autobiographically .
Plesch regularly played music with the physicist Albert Einstein in the garden pavilions of Villa Lemm.
In 1933, the Jewish doctor Plesch had to flee from the Nazis and finally emigrated to London . There he worked as a successful heart specialist after obtaining his English license to practice medicine in 1934 . In 1949 he retired and finally moved to Switzerland .
Eight years later, Plesch died at the age of 78 - without ever having seen Villa Lemm again.
Use by the Seligmann family (1933–1939)
After the previous owner János Plesch had fled, the banker Hans Seligmann acquired the Villa Lemm in order to keep the property in the family if possible. Seligmann was a nephew of Plesch's wife.
However, as early as 1939, under pressure from the ruling Nazi regime, Seligmann had to cede the property to the Spandau district.
The further fate of Seligmann is not known.
District Mayor's Residence (1939–1945)
After the seizure and expropriation of the villa by the Spandau district, it was granted to the National Socialist district mayors as a residence . So far, these private rooms have been available in Spandau Town Hall . Sources according to which the district took possession of the villa from 1936 onwards have not yet been proven.
It is also not known whether the name "Villa Lemm" was still formally used at that time.
Residence of the city commandant (1945–1990)
The Villa Lemm survived the turmoil of the Second World War without damage.
After the occupation of Germany by the Allied occupying powers , the Spandau district was assigned to the British Sector in 1945 . As a result of the stationing of their troops, the British finally confiscated some buildings and properties, including the Villa Lemm.
Due to its representative character, it was declared the residence of the Commander of the British Sector of Berlin and was initially extensively renovated. In addition, the British carried out numerous renovations, so that it was not until 1946 that Eric Nares , the first city commandant, actually became the new owner of the Villa Lemm.
The property came into public focus at least once a year when a member of the royal family traveled to Berlin to attend the birthday parade on Berlin's Maifeld .
In 1965, 1978 and 1987 Queen Elisabeth II traveled personally to Berlin and resided in the Villa Lemm during this time.
The property and thus also the family of the respective city commanders and their visitors have been under the protection of the 248 German Security Unit - a German service organization of the British military police RMP since the 1970s .
With German reunification , which took place on October 3, 1990, the Allies withdrew their city commanders.
With Major General Robert Corbett , the last British city commandant left the Villa Lemm, which stood empty for a few months under the protection of the German Security Unit and was finally handed over to the German authorities.
Vacancy (1990–1995)
In 1990 the property was first given back to the family of János Plesch, who died in 1957. In the same year, the state of Berlin acquired the villa and carried out extensive renovations .
With the passing of the Berlin / Bonn Act and the intended relocation of the most important ministries to Berlin, the Villa Lemm was initially intended as the residence of the Federal Chancellor . Ultimately, however, the project failed due to massive security concerns from the Federal Criminal Police Office .
Use by the Piepenbrock family (since 1995)
The well-known entrepreneur and patron of the arts Hartwig Piepenbrock acquired Villa Lemm in 1995 with his wife Maria-Theresia for a total price of eleven million marks .
In cooperation with the Berlin State Monuments Office , he had the property completely renovated between 1995 and 1997 and, above all, restored the gardens to their historical status. In this respect, a swimming pool and a tennis facility developed by the British armed forces were removed again. The sentry boxes and kennels that were set up for the security forces deployed when the British property was in use have also been removed without replacement.
The art lover Piepenbrock brought the Villa Lemm back to its former glory and organized exhibitions and numerous art projects on the property. The Berlinische Gallery , he exhibited his projects a 150 works comprehensive collection available.
In 2008 Piepenbrock withdrew from the public eye after suffering from Alzheimer's . Eventually he died in July 2013 at the age of 76.
His widow Maria-Theresia Piepenbrock still lives in Villa Lemm.
Villa Lemm, servants' house
Villa Lemm, garden
The Havel at the bathing meadow next to the Villa Lemm
Others
- The mausoleum built for Otto Lemm's family on the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Cemetery also includes a small prayer room . a. is adorned with a mosaic picture of Villa Lemm.
- In 1977, a small fire broke out on the roof of Villa Lemm, which, however, was extinguished in time by the British city commander Roy Redgrave .
- During the royal visits to Villa Lemm, the entire waterfront was secured by special forces and boats and the relevant section of the Havel was closed to shipping.
- A short time after German reunification, the villa's gardens were placed under monument protection.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Villa Lemm. In: Landesdenkmalamt Berlin. Accessed April 5, 2018 (German).
- ^ Residence of the British city commander. In: Landesdenkmalamt Berlin. Accessed April 5, 2018 (German).
- ^ The service provider - Obituary for Hartwig Piepenbrock. In: Der Tagesspiegel Online. July 5, 2013, accessed April 5, 2018 (German).
- ↑ Carsten Schanz: The Villa Lemm is half-mast . Ed .: Kameradschaft 248 German Security Unit e. V. Berlin August 23, 2013.
- ^ Carsten Schanz: An officer and a gentleman . In: GUARD REPORT . September 2015. Kameradschaft 248 German Security Unit e. V., S. 1-6 .