Kirchrode-Bemerode-Wülferode

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It all began in 1897 with the development of the Kühlshausen villa colony on Kaiser-Wilhelm-Straße. Little remains of the old village on Brabeckstraße and Kirchröder Markt; only the Henriettenstiftung complex on Schwemannstraße, which was expanded starting in 1874 to house the Alt-Bethesda nursing home and later converted into a hospital wing, features early brick buildings. Bemerode retained its village character for longer. Later, a few workers’ houses were built, followed in the 20th century by expansion to the north, and finally, starting in 1997, the Kronsberg housing development.

Kühlshausen colony

© HMTG

In 1897, dog-biscuit manufacturer and building contractor Johannes Kühl purchased the “Am Hüllenfelde” property, laid out Kaiser-Wilhelm-Strasse as a linden tree-lined avenue, and initially had six villas built. The neighborhood came to be known as “Kühlshausen.” The villas at Kaiser-Wilhelm-Str. 1 and 2 exemplify the ideal image of a detached, stately villa set in greenery during the German Empire. Kühl himself lived in the imposing “Villa Fernblick,” built in 1900. Additional buildings followed, and by 1913 the row was fully developed.

Address:Kaiser-Wilhelm-Straße, 30559 Hannover

Heinemanhof

© HMTG

The gatehouses at 86 Brabeckstraße mark the entrance to what is now the Heinemanhof 1-2 nursing home in the southern part of Kirchrode. The former women’s residence of the Minna James Heineman Foundation, built in 1930–31 according to plans by Henry van de Velde, was intended for single women of the educated classes, primarily Jewish women from Hanover.

Van de Velde was one of the most important Art Nouveau architects. The architecture follows in the tradition of the Amsterdam School: While the flat, austere north side closes off like a block, the south side opens up onto the park with balconies, bay windows, and terraces. Van de Velde designed the park together with landscape architect Wilhelm Hübotter, and it interacts strongly with the building. Architecture and nature formed a single entity.

Address:1 Heinemanhof, 30559 Hannover