The Hammerschmidt Villa in Bonn was completed in 1860, designed by August Dieckhoff as a stately home for a wealthy industrialist. Albrecht Troost was the first owner. Otto Penner redecorated it in 1868. The article describes the style as Neoclassical.
Later owners were Leopold Koenig and then Rudolf Hammerschmidt, from 1899 to 1928. The villa was divided into flats after an auction in 1928, and British occupation forces requisitioned it from 1945 to 1949. In 1950 it became the main official seat and residence of the German president.
It earned the nickname White House of Bonn and served as a political symbol of West Germany. Since 1994 it has been the secondary seat, used when the president is in Bonn.
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