Pattonville facts for kids
Pattonville is a neighborhood in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located northeast of Stuttgart. What makes Pattonville special is that it used to be a housing area for the U.S. military. Most U.S. military places in Germany changed a lot when they were given back. But Pattonville has kept much of its original look.
A Look Back: Pattonville's Story
Pattonville was a large housing area for the U.S. Army. It was in West Germany during the Cold War. The Cold War was a time of tension between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. The U.S. Army built and managed Pattonville from 1955 to 1992. It was part of the Stuttgart Military Community.
The community was named after General George S. Patton. He was a famous commander of the Third Army in World War II. Pattonville is located northeast of Stuttgart. It is also southeast of Ludwigsburg.
From 1955 to 1992, Pattonville was home to Stuttgart American High School. At its busiest in the 1960s, about 1,200 students went there. Some well-known people attended this school. These include Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. Musician Katrina Leskanich from the band Katrina and the Waves also went there. Both later graduated from other schools.
In 1992, Patch American High School became the only high school for military families nearby. It was located at Patch Barracks. That school closed in 2015. A new school, Stuttgart High School, opened that fall. It is on Panzer Kaserne and is the only school for U.S. military families in the Stuttgart area.
Stuttgart Golf Club
A well-known part of Pattonville was the Stuttgart Golf Club. It was an 18-hole golf course and club. The course was about 7,000 yards long. It covered 300 acres of land. The U.S. military ran it for their soldiers and families.
Bernhard von Limburger designed the course. It opened in 1956, right next to Pattonville. German locals were first allowed to play there in 1969. Over time, the club let a few German members join. After the Gulf War, many U.S. Army people left Stuttgart. The club then became shared with German control.
Today, it is called Golf Club Neckar eV. The U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart still runs the American Stuttgart Golf Club. The golf course and club are the only things left from the old U.S. military base.
What Happened After: Redevelopment
After most U.S. Army units left the area, the Pattonville base was given back to the German government. This happened after the Gulf War. Pattonville was mostly a housing complex. In 1994, it was opened as apartments for German people living nearby.
The old Stuttgart American School complex is now used as the Erich-Bracher-Schule. The former military airfield now helps rescue helicopters. The "Christoph 51" rescue helicopter moved there. This was because there was too much air traffic at Stuttgart Airport. The airfield has also become a place for recreational flying. Its German civilian code is EDTQ.
The area of Pattonville used to be split between two cities. These were Remseck and Kornwestheim. Remseck is to the east of Ludwigsburg. Kornwestheim is to the south. The border between the two cities was changed. It now runs along John-F.-Kennedy-Allee. This is Pattonville's main street.
So, the western half of Pattonville belongs to Kornwestheim. The eastern half belongs to Remseck. In 2013, about 6,000 people lived in Pattonville. They are split between the two cities. The streets in Pattonville are named after different U.S. states. These names remind everyone of the American military presence after World War II.
