Villa Gemmingen

Baroness Christa von Tessin cordially invites you to Villa Gemmingen. This grand mansion sits majestically on the slopes of Karlshöhe. It’s not just a beautiful building. It’s a time capsule. It holds within its walls the echoes of Stuttgart’s elite from the early 20th century. Villa Gemmingen was built between 1910 and 1911. It was designed by Stuttgart architects Albert Eitel and Eugen Steigleder for Fritz Freiherr von Gemmingen-Hornberg and his wife Dora. Dora was the daughter of Gustav Siegle, a prominent Stuttgart chemist and co-founder of BASF. The villa replaced two older villas. Its construction cost twice as much as the Villa Reitzenstein, built around the same time. This speaks volumes about the family’s wealth and ambition. Notice the late Baroque style. It’s reminiscent of a pleasure palace. The grounds are inspired by Italian Renaissance terraced gardens. The south side offers a striking first impression. But the real grandeur reveals itself on the west-facing garden facade. A two- to three-story structure capped with a mansard-hipped roof stands proudly. The symmetrical facades, the rounded central hall with its dome, and the columned side wings exude an aura of elegance. The large terrace with a swimming pool adds to the villa’s charm. A unique feature is the northern garden side. It offers a delightful promenade under light arcades. The attention to detail is breathtaking. Artists like Josef Zeitler, Emil Epple, and Jakob Brüllmann contributed to making Villa Gemmingen a total work of art. The villa even had a personal elevator from the very beginning, a rare luxury at that time. The original wooden cabin of this elevator is now on display at the Elevator Museum in Mannheim-Seckenheim. Villa Gemmingen miraculously survived World War II unscathed. Its original furnishings remain intact. After the war, it served as the headquarters for the occupying forces, then the police chief, and later the economic control service. In the 1980s, the villa was threatened with demolition. Thankfully, a group of architects stepped in to save it. From 1982 to 2002, Villa Gemmingen housed the State Office for Monument Preservation. Today, this architectural gem is privately owned by Baroness von Tessin. It continues to whisper stories of a bygone era.