Consulate General of the United States, Hamburg

Consulate General of the United States in Hamburg

The White House of Hamburg[1]
Shown within Hamburg
General information
Type Diplomatic mission
Architectural style Historicism
Location Hamburg, Germany
Address Am Alsterufer 27/28
20254 Hamburg
Germany
Coordinates 53°33′43″N 9°59′48″E / 53.561944°N 9.996667°E / 53.561944; 9.996667
Construction started 1882 and 1893
Owner U.S. Government
Design and construction
Architect Martin Haller

The Consulate General of the United States of America in Hamburg is a diplomatic mission representing the United States of America to the city of Hamburg and the land of Schleswig Holstein in the Federal Republic of Germany. The Government of Hamburg counts the promotion of the then Vice-Consul John Parish to the rank of a consul in 1793 as the establishment of the first mission.[2] The consulate-general represents the interests of the United States government in the German states of Hamburg, Bremen, Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and Schleswig-Holstein.[3]

History

I do hereby pray and request the Governors, Burgomasters and Senate of the Imperial free City Hamburgh, to permit the said John Parish fully and peaceably to enjoy and exercise the said Office (Vice Consul), without giving or suffering to be given unto him any Molestation or Trouble, but on the contrary to afford him all the proper Countenance and Assistance; I offering to do the same for all those who in like manner be recommended to me by the said Governors, Burgomasters and Senate of the Imperial free City Hamburgh.
— George Washington, on 17 June 1790[4]

The first American mission to Hamburg was established in 1790 and John Parish was named Vice Consul. In 1793 Parish was promoted to the rank of a consul. In 1897, Hugh Pitcairn was appointed to the consulate, and in 1903 appointed to be Consul General by President Roosevelt.[5]

During the participation of the US in the First and Second World War all consulates in the German Empire were closed. On 1 March 1946 the US Government reopened the consulate in Hamburg, and in 1950 purchased the building at Alsterufer on the shore of Lake Außenalster.[4]

In 2007 Ms. Karen E. Johnson succeeded Duane C. Butcher as consul general in Hamburg.[6] As of 2009, 31 consuls and 22 consuls general had served in Hamburg.[4]

Facilities

A street with a crossing green fence and a barrier with guard houses.
Closed street in front of the consulate-general, view from direction Kennedybrücke.

In 1882 the larger one of the two houses was built, and in 1893 the smaller building was finished by architect Martin Haller, who also designed the Hamburg Rathaus. From 1933 until 1945 the Nazi Party used the houses as Hamburg headquarters.[4] After the war, the British forces confiscated the houses, and in 1950 the US Government bought them from the heirs of the original owners.[4] Eventually a structure was built between the two houses to create one single building.

After a renovation the consulate moved into the house in 1951.[4] The Consulate General is commonly called das Weiße Haus an der Alster (the White House on the Alster) in Hamburg.[1][7] Since threats against American embassies, 9/11, and a direct threat against the consulate in Hamburg, the security of the US Consulate General in Hamburg was often strengthened.[7][8][9] On 1 April 2009, the Hamburger Morgenpost used the consulate for an April Fools' Day news, that because of security reasons the consulate will move to a WW II shelter at Heiligengeistfeld.[1] In the late 1990s portions of what used to be a larger property belonging to and surrounding the Consulate were sold off to raise needed cash for the US Embassy in Berlin. The Consulate is known for placing a large Christmas tree every year on the balcony over the entrance.

Neighbourhood

The artificial lake Außenalster is in front of the American consulate in the Rotherbaum quarter. The railway station Dammtor is nearby to the South.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Ein Scherz" [A joke] (in German). Hamburger Morgenpost. 2009-04-02. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
  2. ↑ Liste des Konsularkorps sowie der Handelsvertretungen, der kulturellen Institute und der internationalen Institutionen in der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg (PDF) (in German), Hamburg: Der Stenat der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg, Senatskanzlei, July 2009
  3. ↑ "Our Consular Region". US Department of State Consulate General Hamburg. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "History". US Department of State Consulate General Hamburg. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
  5. ↑ "Local and Personal". Cambria Freeman. January 9, 1903. Retrieved 15 Jan 2008.
  6. ↑ "Selected Events 2007". US Department of State Consulate General Hamburg. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
  7. 1 2 "Hamburg baut US-Konsulat zur Festung aus" [Hamburg fortifies US Consulate] (in German). Der Spiegel. 2003-04-26. Retrieved 2009-10-23.
  8. ↑ "Hamburg: Attentat auf US-Konsulat geplant" [Hamburg: Attack on US Consulate was planned] (in German). Die Welt. 1998-09-25. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
  9. ↑ "Am US-Konsulat wird jetzt aufgerüstet" [The US Consulate is now upgraded] (in German). Hamburger Abendblatt. 2008-03-11. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
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