Villa Simon, Neo-Renaissance villa in Calenberger Neustadt, Hannover, Germany
Villa Simon is a two-storey stuccoed building in the Rundbogenstil and Neo-Renaissance style, designed by Christian Heinrich Tramm and built 1858–1860 at Königsworther Platz in Hannover's Calenberger Neustadt. Its winter garden faces the square, and above it an observation platform looks toward Herrenhäuser Allee and Herrenhausen Palace. The villa is almost unchanged and listed as a monument.
Eduard Simon, a Jewish lawyer, commissioned the construction of this residence between 1858 and 1860, replacing his earlier summer house. In 1895, Joseph Berliner, founder of Deutsche Grammophon, purchased the villa to serve as his private home.
The building now houses the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University of Hannover and serves as a place where students and researchers work daily. It has become an important academic hub within the neighborhood.
The structure retains its original architectural character and is easily visible from the street. Its location near Herrenhausen makes it convenient to visit alongside other attractions in the area.
A 1770 Lorraine cupboard from the villa's original furnishings was sold by an art dealer to the Museum August Kestner, where it remains today. The rest of the grand-bourgeois interior vanished after the war. Since 2009, Stolpersteine by Gunter Demnig have lain in front of the villa for Martin and Betty Schlesinger, deported to Riga in 1941.
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