Embassy of the United Kingdom, Berlin

Coordinates:52°30′57″N13°22′51″E/ 52.51583°N 13.38083°E/52.51583; 13.38083
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British Embassy, Berlin
The Embassy building in Berlin
Map
LocationGermanyBerlin,Germany
Address70-71Wilhelmstraße
Coordinates52°30′57″N13°22′51″E/ 52.51583°N 13.38083°E/52.51583; 13.38083
AmbassadorJill Gallard
WebsiteBritish Embassy, Berlin

TheBritish Embassy in Berlin(German:Britische Botschaft, Berlin) is the United Kingdom'sdiplomatic missionto Germany. It is located on 70-71Wilhelmstraße,near theHotel Adlon,inBerlin.The current ambassador isJill Gallard.[1]

Palais Strousberg[edit]

Main article:Palais Strousberg
ThePalais Strousberglater to become the old British embassy building

Before moving to the Wilhelmstraße, the British mission used, among others, the building atLeipziger Platz 12and theNiederländisches Palais[de]), from 1797 to 1803. The original building at 70 Wilhelmstraße, known as thePalais Strousbergand designed byAugust Orth,was built in 1868 by the railway magnateBethel Henry Strousberg.In December 1884, the United Kingdom bought the site after renting it for some years after Strousberg's bankruptcy and the subsequent sale of the building toHugo zu Hohenlohe-Öhringenin 1876.[2]Wilhelmstraße was then a centre for the German government, being the location of the Imperial Chancellery and the Foreign Ministry.

When diplomatic relations were broken off at the outbreak ofWorld War I,the building stood empty. Surviving a fire during the upheavals of the1919 revolution,it was reoccupied in 1920 whenEdgar Vincent d'Abernonbecame ambassador.[2]At the beginning ofWorld War II,relations were broken off again. The building was heavily damaged by Allied bombing during the war and was demolished in 1950. The title to the land nevertheless remained in the possession of the United Kingdom.[citation needed]

Cold War era[edit]

Building Unter den Linden 32-34

Between 1949 and 1990, Germany was divided. The British Ambassador to theFederal Republic of Germany (West Germany)was based inBonn,the capital city of that state. The British embassy to theGerman Democratic Republic(East Germany) was situated near to the old embassy, atUnter den Linden32-34.

Post-reunification building[edit]

Coat of arms

Upon reunification in 1990, the German government returned the seat of government fromBonntoBerlin.Accordingly, theBritish governmentdecided to reoccupy the Wilhelmstraße site, despite the German Foreign Office no longer being located on this street. An architectural competition was held, and won by the practice ofMichael Wilfordand Partner (see also Manuel Schupp).[who?]Ground was broken at the site on 29 June 1998 byDerek FatchettMP, and the new building opened byQueen Elizabeth IIon 18 July 2000.[citation needed]

Architecture[edit]

The British embassy is the first, and to date, only embassy in Germany to be built under aprivate finance initiative.Arteos, aBilfinger Bergerownedspecial purpose entity,financed and were to operate the embassy building for 30 years. A further 30-year extension is possible, following which the building will revert to British government ownership. In December 2006, Bilfinger sold their interest in the embassy to the UK firm Secondary Market Infrastructure Fund.[3]

Conscious of the necessity for modern embassies to forge good and open relationships with the German public, Wilford endowed the main floor with a café, library and restaurant. The security zone used to begin on the fourth floor but, with the perceived increased risk from terrorists, the site is now totally secured, and the intended public spaces are no longer freely accessible.[citation needed]

Events[edit]

On 10 August 2021, British and German authorities arrested an embassy security guard forpassing documentstoRussian intelligencefor money. The guard, a 57-year-old British locally-hired contract worker, was named as David Smith.MI5,theMetropolitan Police'sCounter Terrorism Command,theBKA(German federal police), and various prosecutors had investigated the man for months prior to his arrest inPotsdam.[4][5]On 17 February 2023, Smith was sentenced to 13 years and two months in prison.[6]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^"Change of Her Majesty's Ambassador to Germany: November 2020"(Press release). Foreign & Commonwealth Office. 17 July 2020.Retrieved20 July2020.
  2. ^ab"British embassy Berlin - More information".Archived fromthe originalon 2002-02-15.Retrieved2006-09-01.
  3. ^"Bilfinger sells embassy interest to UK investor".The London Independent. Archived fromthe originalon 2008-09-22.Retrieved2007-03-22.
  4. ^"UK police involved for months in embassy spy case - Met Boss".BBC News.12 August 2021.Retrieved12 August2021.
  5. ^Grierson, Jamie (12 August 2021)."UK police involved in Berlin embassy spy case for 'number of months'".The Guardian.Retrieved12 August2021.
  6. ^Tom Symonds (17 February 2023)."David Smith: Spy at UK's Berlin embassy jailed for selling secrets to Russia".BBC News.Retrieved17 February2023.

This article contains material that was originally translated from the German Wikipedia articleBritische Botschaft in Berlin. That article contains the following references:-

  • Thomas Michael Krüger, Florian Bolk:Britische Botschaft Berlin.Broschüre (32 Pages),ISBN3-933743-36-2
  • Ulf Meyer:Bundeshauptstadt Berlin,jovis Verlag, Berlin, 1999,ISBN3-931321-98-3

External links[edit]

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