Starting in 1885, contractor and city council chairman Ferdinand Wallbrecht carried out his plan for a grand boulevard on the edge of the Eilenriede in Hanover. As a result, Hohenzollernstraße became an exclusive address lined with imposing villas. From 1904 to 1906, Siegmund Seligmann and his wife Johanna had a house built there with spacious gardens. They chose Hermann Schaedtler (1857–1931) as their architect.

STYLISTIC DIVERSITY & REPRESENTATION

With the building at Hohenzollernstraße 39, Schaedtler created an upper-class villa featuring elements from various eras, ranging from Neo-Renaissance to Art Nouveau. The marble-clad entrance hall leads to the staircase, the study, and what is now the concert hall—a two-story room featuring intricate carvings and a gallery with windows on the upper level. As pictures from the villa’s early days show, this is where social life once took place. The two rooms adjoining the “Great Hall”—the ladies’ salon and the dining room—are also used today as an auditorium for events.

While the rooms on the ground floor were used for entertaining guests, the first floor housed the Seligmann family’s private quarters. Today, these rooms serve as exhibition and office spaces. Of particular note is the former living room of Seligmann’s son Edgar, where the portrait of Seligmann, painted in 1910 by Max Liebermann, is on display as a permanent loan. The second floor of the villa was used for guests and servants.

FROM A PRIVATE HOME TO PUBLIC USE

After Siegmund Seligmann’s death in 1925, Villa Seligmann went through a tumultuous history. His son, Edgar Seligmann, donated the house to the city of Hanover in 1931 and sold the property for 60,000 Reichsmarks. The contents were auctioned off, and the building was repeatedly remodeled and adapted by various occupants. For a time, it served as a museum storage facility and was even used by the Wehrmacht; later, it housed the State Food Administration. Until 1972, Villa Seligmann housed the Hanover Conservatory of Music—later known as the HMTMH—until it moved to the new building on the former Emmichplatz, now known as the Neues Haus. After that, it became the home of the municipal music school.

In 2006, the Siegmund Seligmann Foundation acquired the building from the City of Hanover and had it extensively restored between 2010 and 2012. Thanks to the generous support of donors and dedicated members of the Siegmund Seligmann Foundation, this ambitious project was successfully completed.
The restoration of the villa reflects a deep commitment to the preservation and reconstruction of an important cultural heritage. The restoration team’s work was honored with the Federal Prize for Craftsmanship in Historic Preservation.