Patrick-Henry-Village

The Patrick Henry Village (short: PHV, also called Patrick Henry settlement or written without the hyphen ) was an American Urbanization in the Heidelberg district Kirchheim. PHV, was built in 1952-1955 for U.S. military personnel and their families stationed at bases in and around Heidelberg. It was named after the American politician Patrick Henry ( 1736-1799 ).

The Americans pursued expansion plans in the year 2002. In particular, they were planning a big shopping mall south of the Patrick Henry Village. Further considerations foresaw an adjacent expulsion military sites, which would have been enough in the west to the development limits of Plank city, to the north of Eppelheim and the Heidelberg district Pfaffengrund as well as in the east to the military airfield. For financial reasons, and probably also because of the protest of some farmers Heidelberger this project was not pursued.

In 2003, as a result of the attacks on New York City on 11 September 2001, the Patrick Henry Village, as well as all the other facilities of the U.S. Army in Heidelberg, equipped with a fence. Access, previously in the living areas each free, since only through guarded entrances with a U.S. Army identification was possible. The hitherto annual American festival on the grounds of the PHV was also no longer aligned.

For the inhabitants of the Patrick Henry Village, there were all the facilities also exist in a U.S. city: schools, kindergartens, a fire station, leisure facilities ( bowling, playgrounds, etc.) and also a commissary and PX Store. Besides the well known also in Germany fast-food chains Burger King and Subway were in the PHV also stores other fast-food chains (for example, Baskin -Robbins ). In contrast to the shop opening times in the rest of Germany could be purchased in the residential area around the clock.

The Patrick Henry Village was officially closed on September 6, 2013, after the military personnel had been largely transferred to Wiesbaden to the new headquarters of the American forces in Europe. The terrain is, as a last resort of military conversion areas in Heidelberg, will be handed over to July 1, 2014, the Federal Agency for Real Estate. Still no concrete plans for a future civilian use.