From Villa District to Diplomatic Quarter
Further diplomatic missions followed. By 1938, nearly 40 embassies and almost 30 consulates were represented in the Tiergarten district. Previously, many embassies in Berlin had traditionally been located near the Reichstag and in the area around Wilhelmstrasse; the influx of numerous diplomatic missions into the Tiergarten district changed this. It became Berlin’s central diplomatic hotspot.

Nazi Regime
Under the National Socialist regime and its urban planning ambitions for a so-called “World Capital Germania,” far-reaching changes were planned from the mid-1930s onward. The western part of the Tiergarten district was officially designated an “Embassy Quarter.” Several countries constructed new buildings for their legations there, including Japan, Italy, and Spain.

Second World War
The Second World War destroyed many of the magnificent villas and historic embassy buildings; a large number were so severely damaged that they had to be demolished. The political division of Germany and Berlin after the war led to the further decline of the already battered diplomatic quarter. In addition to the heavy war damage, decades of subsequent vacancy further took their toll on the buildings.

Embassies in Divided Germany
With the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) in 1949, Bonn became the provisional seat of government of the FRG. As a result, many diplomatic missions also relocated to Bonn, while West Berlin remained under Allied supervision. States that recognized the GDR and maintained relations with it generally located their diplomatic missions in East Berlin.

Reunification and Return to Berlin
In the early 1990s, following the reunification of Germany, Berlin once again became the capital. The relocation of government and administration continued until the turn of the millennium. In the course of this development, many countries returned their embassies to Berlin.

In the historic embassy quarter near the Tiergarten, new embassy buildings have been and continue to be constructed, some with spectacular architecture that fascinatingly represents their countries, cultures, histories, and geographies, enriching Berlin as an international metropolis with a diverse architectural landscape.

Today, the diplomatic quarter is one of Berlin’s most prestigious and expensive residential and embassy districts, with around 30 embassies once again located there. The Japanese Embassy is one of them and is presented here as an example.

You can read the fascinating stories of all the other embassies in the Tiergarten district in the January/February print edition of Diplomatisches Magazin, published in early January 2026. Copies are available via: redaktion@diplomatisches-magazin.de.