CHANCERIESTHE DIPLOMATIC ATLAS

Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany

Diplomatic history and full roster

Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany

4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007

Egon Eiermann’s chancery steps down the wooded slope above Reservoir Road. Slender steel frames, continuous balconies and timber-framed windows give the long office building its open, horizontal character. Completed in 1964, it shares the grounds with an earlier house and later diplomatic buildings.

FactValueBasis and sources
Constructed1964verified Completion of the main chancery. The earlier house on the plateau dates from about 1930; construction periods are not combined into one building age.
  1. eiermann.saai.kit.edu
  2. www.bbr.bund.de
Acquired by Germany1954verified The Eiermann archive documents purchase of the original sloping plot and existing colonial house in 1954. This date is not automatically assigned to the adjacent residence parcel.
  1. eiermann.saai.kit.edu
NeighborhoodBerkleyverified
  1. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
ArchitectEgon Eiermannverified The original chancery is by Eiermann. HPP led the later refurbishment; other campus buildings have their own design histories.
  1. eiermann.saai.kit.edu
  2. www.bbr.bund.de
Rooms110–265 est.estimated; Planning estimate: rooms = building area × room-area fraction ÷ average room size. For this office property, assume 45%–65% of the recorded 100,771 sq ft is enclosed usable room area, with an average 250–400 sq ft per room. The range combines the low fraction with the larger room size and the high fraction with the smaller size, rounded outward to five rooms. Room allocation and average size are assumptions. Covers the recorded building area; the interior has not been independently measured. Estimated room range.
  1. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
Floor area100,800 sq ftverified; Sum of the two distinct commercial CAMA building records on chancery estate SSL 1370/0014: 85,176 + 15,595 sq ft. The record is explicitly estate building area; it does not claim the main chancery alone measures this amount. Uses the assessor's recorded LIVING_GBA measure without adding an unreported basement.
  1. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
Site area172,300 sq ftverified; Parcel total: 1370/0014. DC ITSPE LANDAREA, recorded square feet. Roads and unrelated neighboring parcels excluded.
  1. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
2026 Value$22.0Mverified; Parcel total: 1370/0014. Active 2026 DC ITSPE ASSESSMENT; land plus improvements. Not proposed value, tax owed, sale price or leasehold value.
  1. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov

Complete property record

German Ambassador’s Residence

1800 Foxhall Road NW, Washington, DC 20007

Oswald Mathias Ungers designed the residence around a repeated square grid. Its pale stone walls, copper roofs and glazed garden colonnade overlook four landscaped terraces and a reflecting pool. Completed in 1994, the house stands on the eastern part of the embassy grounds.

FactValueBasis and sources
Constructed1994verified Residence completed in 1994; official project history gives 1992–1994 and September 1994 handover.
  1. www.bbr.bund.de
  2. www.germany.info
  3. www.museum-der-1000-orte.de
Acquired by GermanyNot Verifiedunverified Current German ownership is established. A documented acquisition date for this separate parcel was not located. The original chancery plot’s 1954 acquisition is not substituted.
  1. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
  2. www.bbr.bund.de
  3. www.germany.info
NeighborhoodBerkleyverified
  1. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
ArchitectOswald Mathias Ungersverified
  1. www.bbr.bund.de
  2. www.germany.info
Rooms39verified; Current DC residential CAMA ROOMS for the identified dwelling; this assessor count is distinct from bedrooms, bathrooms or the number of modeled room studies.
  1. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
Floor area21,200 sq ftverified; DC residential CAMA GBA for the residence building, SSL 1370/0016. It is the assessor's recorded building-area measure. The larger 3,362 m² renovation scope is not substituted or summed because it can include service or project spaces beyond this residential record.
  1. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
Site area226,500 sq ftverified; Parcel total: 1370/0016. DC ITSPE LANDAREA, recorded square feet. Roads and unrelated neighboring parcels excluded.
  1. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
2026 Value$24.7Mverified; Parcel total: 1370/0016. Active 2026 DC ITSPE ASSESSMENT; land plus improvements. Not proposed value, tax owed, sale price or leasehold value.
  1. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov

Complete property record

Historic Moments

The United States enters the war

1917-04-06

Congress declares war on Germany after unrestricted submarine attacks and the breakdown of diplomatic relations. Woodrow Wilson commits American forces and resources to the European conflict.

A new framework for relations

8 December 1923

Ambassador Otto Wiedfeldt and Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes signed a Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Consular Rights in Washington. Following the restoration of diplomatic relations in 1921, it set rules for travel, business, property, and consular protection.

An air bridge to Berlin

1948–1949

When the Soviet Union blocked land access to West Berlin, the United States and its allies supplied the city by air. The airlift became a defining early commitment to West Berlin and a lasting point of connection between Americans and Germans.

West Germany joins NATO

1955-05-06

Heinz Krekeler deposits West Germany’s instrument of accession with John Foster Dulles in Washington. The Federal Republic enters NATO, linking its rearmament to the Western alliance.

Kennedy stands with West Berlin

1963-06-26

John F. Kennedy visits the divided city and speaks outside Schöneberg Town Hall. His declaration of solidarity reassures West Berliners, while the Wall continues to separate them from the East.

The settlement that opened the way to unity

12 September 1990

The two German states and the four wartime Allied powers signed the Two-Plus-Four Treaty in Moscow. U.S. Secretary of State James Baker joined the six party settlement that established the external framework for German unification and full sovereignty.

Chiefs of Mission

DiplomatOfficeRecorded serviceStatus
Friedrich von GreuhmMinister1817–1823Former
Ludwig NiederstetterChargé d’affaires1825–1830Former
Friedrich Ludwig von RönneMinister1834–1844Former
Friedrich von GeroltMinister1844–1848Former
Friedrich Ludwig von RönneMinister1848–1849Former
Friedrich von GeroltMinister1849–1868Former
Friedrich von GeroltMinister1868–1871Former
Kurd von SchlözerMinister1871–1882Former
Carl von EisendecherMinister1882–1884Former
Friedrich Johann von AlvenslebenMinister1884–1888Former
Ludwig von Arco-ValleyMinister1888–1891Former
Theodor von HollebenMinister1891–1893Former
Anton Saurma von der JeltschAmbassador1893–1895Former
Max von ThielmannAmbassador1895–1897Former
Theodor von HollebenAmbassador1897–1903Former
Hermann Speck von SternburgAmbassador1903–1908Former
Johann Heinrich von BernstorffAmbassador1908–1917Former
Karl LangChargé d’affaires1921–1922Former
Otto WiedfeldtAmbassador1922–1925Former
Adolf Georg von MaltzanAmbassador1925–1927Former
Friedrich Wilhelm von Prittwitz und GaffronAmbassador1927–1933Former
Hans LutherAmbassador1933–1937Former
Hans-Heinrich DieckhoffAmbassador1937–1938Former
Hans ThomsenChargé d’affaires1938–1941Former
Heinz KrekelerChargé d’affaires1951–1955Former
Heinz KrekelerAmbassador1955–1958Former
Wilhelm GreweAmbassador1958–1962Former
Karl Heinrich KnappsteinAmbassador1962–1968Former
Rolf Friedemann PaulsAmbassador1968–1973Former
Berndt von StadenAmbassador1973–1979Former
Rolf SieberAmbassador1974–1978Former
Horst GrunertAmbassador1978–1983Former
Peter HermesAmbassador1979–1984Former
Gerhard HerderAmbassador1983–1990Former
Günther van WellAmbassador1984–1987Former
Jürgen RuhfusAmbassador1987–1992Former
Immo StabreitAmbassador1992–1995Former
Jürgen ChrobogAmbassador1995–2001Former
Wolfgang IschingerAmbassador2001–2006Former
Klaus SchariothAmbassador2006–2011Former
Peter AmmonAmbassador2011–2014Former
Peter WittigAmbassador2014–2018Former
Emily HaberAmbassador2018–2023Former
Andreas MichaelisAmbassador2023–2025Former
Jens HanefeldAmbassador2025–PresentCurrent