Posts Tagged ‘Hotel Petersberg’

Allied High Commission governs Germany

Monday, October 17th, 2016

 

The Allied High Commission (Alliierte Hohe Kommission) was a form of Allied military rule following World War II. It was established on 21 September 1949 by the three Western Allies (The United States, Great Britain and France) and superseded the Allied Control Council

Purpose of the Allied High Commission

The function of the Allied High Commission in Germany was to regulate and, if necessary, intervene in areas of military, economic, and foreign policy matters of the newly established Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany).

Creation of the Allied High Commission

On 9 May 1945, Germany unconditionally surrendered to the four allies: The United States, Great Britain, France and the Soviet Union. The four allies assumed responsibility for the government of Germany via the Allied Control Council. Each power occupied a specific zone of Germany. Berlin, located entirely within the Soviet Zone, was to be governed by an Allied Kommandatura.

The four Allies attempted to formulate a common administrative policy for Germany, but the divergent interests among the occupying powers made their efforts futile. In 1946, British forces agreed to an American proposal to merge their two zones to create a bizone for economic reasons. The bizone was established on 1 January 1947, and in June, a plan to include the French Zone was agreed upon. The Soviets blockaded West Berlin. In return, the Western powers counter-blockaded the Soviet zone and organized an airlift to keep West Berlin supplied. The Soviet Union finally lifted the blockade in May 1949, but Berlin remained divided into three Western and one Eastern sectors until the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Meanwhile, a German government was set up in the Western zones. In April 1949 the United States, Great Britain and France published a new occupation statute of Germany governing their respective zones. It guaranteed self-government to the new West German State, with certain restrictions. West Germany’s constitution went into effect in May 1949. In September, the Occupation Statute went into effect, and the Allied High Commission replaced the Allied Control Council in September 1949. https://www.bl.uk/britishlibrary/~/media/subjects images/government publications/pdfs/germany-allied-control-zone-government-publications.pdf

The High Commission took its seat at the Hotel Petersberg and became active as of 21 September 1949. It ceased to function under the terms of the Treaties of Paris on 5 May 1955.

 

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic or current events, people, places or food.

Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.

 

 

Hotel Petersberg – Germany’s Camp David

Monday, October 3rd, 2016

The stately Hotel Petersberg is located on a mountaintop by the same name in Germany’s Siebengebirge across the river from the city of Bonn. It was the German equivalent of Camp David prior to Germany’s reunification. The hotel, with a long and colorful history, is open to the public. Since 1990 the 5-Star hotel is operated by the Steigenberger chain under the name “Steigenberger Grand Hotel Petersberg.” Although still owned by the government, nowadays it rarely serves as Germany’s Bundesgaestehaus (Federal Guesthouse).

Aerial view of the Steigenberger Grand Hotel Petersberg complex. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Aerial view of the Steigenberger Grand Hotel Petersberg complex. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Pre-World War II History of Hotel Petersberg

Joseph Ludwig Mertens, a Cologne merchant, purchased the picturesque mountaintop area in 1834 and constructed his summer residence on the Petersberg. In 1892, following Mertens’ death, the brothers Paul and Joseph Nelles aquired the property, upgraded it and turned it into an elegant hotel. Among the first dignitaries to stay at the now stylish hotel were Prussian empress Victoria and Swedish Queen Sophie. But despite the noble clientele, the hotel proved unprofitable. And in 1912, Ferdinand Muelhens, owner of the 4711 Eau de Cologne company, acquired it at a foreclosure sale. Following extensive improvements he reopened it as a spa hotel two years later. Although by then financially successful, the hotel was forced to close its doors when World War I broke out and remained closed for the next six years. Following additional remodelling in the 1920s the hotel reopened once more, only to close again at the beginning of World War II.

Post-World-War II History of Hotel Petersberg

In 1945, American Forces confiscated the hotel on the Petersberg and turned it into troop quarters. Shortly thereafter, they handed it to the British Royal Engineers who, in turn, relinquished it to Belgian occupying forces to serve as a recuperation center.

In 1949, following another remodel to accommodate 340 offices, the Allied High Commision (Allierte Hohe Kommission) moved in. It was here that the Petersberg Agreement (Petersberger Abkommen) was signed on 22 November 1949. This was a treaty between the occupying forces of the United States, Great Britain, France and the Federal Republic of Germany, a the first major step toward West German sovereignty. In June 1952, the Allied High Commission moved to another location. The property reverted to its owners, the Muelhens family, who turned the buildings into a hotel once again to be operated by the Breidenbacher Hof, a luxory hotel in Duesseldorf. Since 1954, the hotel bears the name “Hotel Petersberg.”

Recent History of Hotel Petersberg

In 1954 the German Federal government rented the newly remodelled Hotel Petersberg to serve as a guesthouse for visiting dignitaries, which included Etheopian emperor Haile Selassi and British Queen Elizabeth II. Still unprofitable, the hotel closed again in 1969 and slowly deteriorated until 1973 when Soviet Union’s leader, Leonid Brezhnev, requested to stay at the Hotel Petersberg. Despite a partial restoration to host the Soviet head of state, the hotel soon closed again.

Current use of the Hotel Petersberg

The German Federal Government needed a place in which to host visiting dignitaries. The close proximity of Hotel Petersberg to Bonn, the post-war capital, and its idyllic and secure setting helped to make it the top choice. And in 1979, the German Federal government purchased the 270-acre piece of real estate for 18.5 million Deutsche Marks. After spending an additional 137 million Marks on extensive reconstruction, the Hotel Petersberg reopened in 1990. This time, the Steigenberger hotel chain became the operators. Over the next ten years, most heads of state with diplomatic relations to Germany have stayed at the Hotel Petersberg.

Inside the rotunda of the Steigenberger Grand Hotel Petersberg. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Inside the rotunda of the Steigenberger Grand Hotel Petersberg. www.walled-in-berlin.com

In 1999, following German reunification, government offices moved from Bonn to Berlin, and the Hotel Petersberg was now too far away to continue to serve as a Bundesgaestehaus. Although the German government occasionally still rents it for its guests, Schloss Meseberg, 40 miles north of Berlin, has become Germany’s official guesthouse.

 

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic or current events, people, places or food.

Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.