History

The American Compound in Plittersdorf is a historical and unique post-war monument to the architecture of the 1950s, which still remains today a relevant reference for future urban development. The Settlement stands as a contemporary testament to the importance of American influence in the post-war age, which imported the values of democracy, environmental conscience and a return to personal freedom and community spirit to Germany.

Known originally as the HICOG settlement, after the High Commissioner of Germany who commissioned its construction five years after the end of the second world war, the American Settlement was designed by the leading architect, Sep Ruf and landscape architects Hermann Mattern and Heinrich Raderschall.

In 1951 the first embassy personnel and their families began moving into the compound and it didn’t take too long for the “Bonners” to start to regard the settlement as “little America”. This perception was solidified as U.S. authorities continued to expand the facility, quickly building new housing, a social club, a cinema (which doubled as a theatre), a church, a bowling alley, a swimming pool, a shopping center and a gas station, as well as adding a school and a kindergarden in 1954. It was very similar to living in a small American town on the other side of the pond. Today we can still see echoes of this community in the houses, the church (Stimson Memorial Church), the club building, the nursery building and in the typical American wide streets and grid layout. The generous park is a horticultural (green) jewel surrounding the buildings, framed by majestic trees and decorated with carefully selected shrubs, many of which were planted 65 years ago.

A specific emblem for the settlement is the Stimson Memorial Church, which was handed over to the city of Bonn in a ceremony by US President Bill Clinton in 1999. A meeting venue for both social and political occasions, the ‘American Embassy Club’ is located directly at the Rhine and has hosted many famous visitors including the US-Presidents John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and George Bush, as well as the Federal Chancellors Konrad Adenauer, Willy Brandt and Helmut Schmidt.

Starting from its base of garden architecture, the settlement is a very successful example of urban development with a strong human focus. Designed by a consortium of architects the settlement provides an ambience with a perfectly balanced environment, delivering peace, community interaction and social activity while retaining an ever-present proximity to nature.

We live in modern times where our town councils are prepared and willing to sell every last piece of our natural green spaces to investors for further densification. The American Settlement represents a warning against over urbanization, but also sets an example of how communities can exist close to the center of a city, and maintain a natural, ecological, high quality of life, within a practical residential development.