The History of the Gründerzeit Villa

The Gründerzeit villa of the Institute at Benzinoring 6, Kaiserslautern, built in the Neurenaissance architectural style, was constructed in 1899/1900 on behalf of Rudolf and Auguste Luise Gerlach. In the cityscape, the two-story brick building with its columned entrance, projecting bays, dormer gables, and corner tower immediately catches the eye. After the end of World War I in 1918, the house initially experienced forced use by the French occupying forces, and in the 1920s, it was sold by the Gerlach family. The new owners became the Jewish businessman Simon Kehr and his wife Helene, née Jonas. In 1936, under intense pressure from the now-ruling National Socialists, the Kehr family was once again compelled to sell their home at a meager price to the Bezirksverband Pfalz. Due to the increasingly tense political situation in Germany, the Kehrs, along with their children Franz and Edith, permanently emigrated to Palestine in the pogrom year 1938.

After 1945, the villa became the residence of the director of the initially destroyed Pfalzgalerie Kaiserslautern for the coming years, and its ground floor also housed the library of the Landesgewerbeanstalt. In 1972, the house finally became the seat of the "Heimatstelle Pfalz," and after its renaming in 1986, it became the "Institut für pfälzische Geschichte und Volkskunde." In 1980, the building underwent its first renovation and reconstruction, and since 1985, it has been under monument protection. In September of the same year, Edith Werner, née Kehr, visited her old parental home for the first time in 50 years after her expulsion. A comprehensive roof renovation took place from 2017 to 2018.

On March 30, 2019, the building was severely damaged by a fire and was unusable for a long time. The institute's employees were relocated to temporary offices. After the completion of the restoration work and the move, the institute building was reopened in November 2022.