20 years after the move to Berlin Many former embassies in Bonn remain vacant and in decay
Bonn · It’s been nearly 20 years since the capital of Germany moved from Bonn to Berlin, but many former embassy buildings still remain empty and in a state of decay.
Activist demonstrations and occupation of the former Iranian embassy on Godesberger Allee last week once again brought to the forefront a topic that lingers despite two decades gone by. Almost twenty years after Germany’s capital moved from Bonn to Berlin, there are still former embassies standing vacant in the former diplomatic district.
In the case of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the city had blocked the sidewalk in front of the former embassy because parts of the facade had fallen off. This happened just days before activists occupied the building. It turned out that the building was then determined to no longer pose a threat to public safety, yet it remains in very poor condition.
One has heard for years now from officials that the building was to be sold. The city of Bonn confirmed that the responsible contact at the Embassy of Iran said the owner wanted to sell the building. Despite this, there are persistent rumors going through the surrounding neighborhood that Iran intends to set up a Consulate General there. Meanwhile, the former residence of the Iranian ambassador, located on Elliger Höhe in Muffendorf, remains vacant.
Office building planned for former Saudi embassy site
Only a few hundred meters south of the former Iranian embassy on Godesberger Allee is the former site of the Saudi Arabian embassy. Following the demolition of the vacant building last year, a multi-story office building and underground parking garage is to be built there. The city administration has already received a construction request for the site. A four to five-story building is being planned there. The Saudis sold their embassy in 2008 to a Bonn businessman. In 2015, the property changed hands, and demolition of the old building started a year ago.
But there has hardly been any progress made in two more complicated cases. First, there is the case of the former Embassy of Syria on the Rheinaue. Bonn real estate firm Limbach received a total of nine bids for the property, with just under half of them coming in at over three million euros. Limbach CEO Wieland Münch says that the problem is securing a legal contract. With international sanctions against Syria, money from the sale must remain in Germany and be used for the Embassy of Syria in Berlin, explained Münch.
Bids being collected for former Yugoslavian embassy
The other complicated case is that of the former Yugoslavian embassy in Mehlem, at Schlossallee 5. Last year, the real estate company Engel & Völkers in Bonn was commissioned by the successor states of Yugoslavia to sell the ex-embassy along with 5,400 square meters of land. "Showings of the property have also occurred in the meantime," says Dirk Dobat, Managing Director of Engel & Völkers Commercial. "Bids are currently being collected, we are still in an ongoing process," said Dobat. Whether the former embassy building will be demolished remains open.
In addition to the former embassies or official residences of Iran, Syria and Yugoslavia are also those of South Africa (Auf der Hostert 3), Hungary (Turmstraße 30-34), Nigeria (Vulkanstraße 69), Cameroon (Plittersdorfer Straße 115), Somalia (Hohenzollernstraße 12), Nepal (Im Hag 15) and Algeria (Rheinallee 23-24). These former diplomatic sites remain at a standstill, awaiting demolition or renovation.
Orig. text: Michael Wenzel, Translation: ck
