Villa Cahn, Neo-Gothic villa in Plittersdorf, Bad Godesberg, Germany

Villa Cahn is a neo-Gothic, castle-like villa designed by the Hanoverian architect Edwin Oppler and built from 1868 to 1870. Its grey and beige masonry carries a steep dark slate roof, a round corner tower with a conical roof on the left, and a taller square tower with a pointed spire at the centre. Rows of arched and rectangular windows line the long facade, a rounded projection with tall windows sits on the right, and a light-framed glass conservatory projects near the right end. Since renovation the villa stands inside a fully fenced plot and is no longer visible from any side to passers-by.

Albert Cahn, a Jewish banker, had the neo-Gothic villa built by Hanoverian architect Edwin Oppler between 1868 and 1870. His heirs kept it largely unchanged until the family fled Germany during the Nazi period; the confiscated, looted property was returned after the war but only partly lived in, and a plan to move the villa to the USA was dropped. From 1979 it stood empty, and a botched early-1980s renovation destroyed the interior wall paintings and fittings. Frank Asbeck bought the roughly 10,000 m² site in 1997 and saved the building through restoration.

The villa is named after Albert Cahn, the banker who had it built and filled it with Dutch and old German paintings, ceramics, weapons and stained glass. His furniture was newly made to Edwin Oppler's designs or copied from old pieces. The ethnologist Paul Leser belonged to the family of Cahn's sister, who inherited the estate.

Villa Cahn stands on Am Büchel above the Rhine bank, next to the Leserpark. Since the renovation the villa itself is no longer visible from any side, as the whole grounds are fully fenced; only the enclosure and the trees can be seen from the street. The former park is partly built over, and the remaining part is the public Leserpark.

The cremated remains of the original owner lie buried in a special spot within the estate's park, a deeply personal choice by the banker. This type of burial was uncommon for the era and reflects the owner's deep attachment to his home.