Villa Hill

The Villa Hügel, built between 1870 and 1873 according to the ideas of the steel industrialist Alfred Krupp, served the Krupp family as a residence with the highest standards and to represent the company. It is considered a symbol of Germany's industrialization in the 19th century and is located in a 28-hectare park.

Already in the 1860s, Alfred Krupp had bought the area around the Klosterbuschhof in Bredeney - spacious areas with forest and farmland. A property was to be built here that had to meet the ever-growing representative demands of a company that was to develop into one of the most important industrial groups of the 19th century. A property in which the Krupps could receive politicians as well as heads of government, emperors or kings. Krupp made the first sketches as early as 1864; The foundation stone was laid in 1870. The work was initially overshadowed by new difficulties: in December 1870, part of the building sank as a result of subsidence damage. The ground above a tunnel of the former Klosterbusch colliery had caved in under the weight of the new building.

In 1873 the family moved into their new home - together with numerous servants; In 1914 up to 650 people worked on the hill. The First World War, however, plunged the group into economic difficulties. From 1931 onwards the family even moved from the main to the small house for a few years. During the Second World War, the villa served as a place of refuge for relatives who had been bombed out and as a corporate location. The end came in 1945: the Allies arrested Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach, one of the main arms manufacturers of the Third Reich. From then on, the British-American Control Commission used the villa until 1952.

The house has been open to the public since 1953 and has made a name for itself nationwide with exhibitions and cultural events. Visitors can admire the magnificent interior of the villa, which vividly reflects the upper-class living conditions in the empire. The “Krupp Historical Exhibition” provides information about the history of the Krupp family and company as well as the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation, which today owns the property.

In 2023, Villa Hügel and Hügelpark will be 150 years old. The former home of the Krupp family has seen turbulent and eventful decades. With these experiences under its belt, the Krupp Foundation would like to present the – affectionately known – hill in 2023 as an open, contemporary place that is accessible and interesting for all generations.