German Embassy in Mexico City

Photo: Aquintero82, Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International

The German Embassy in Mexico City is the main diplomatic mission of the Federal Republic of Germany in the country. Few realize today that Germany’s influence on contemporary Mexico is profound. One Carl Wilhelm Kahlo was long ago invited by the Mexican government to document Mexico’s even-then considerable architectural heritage. Kahlo achieved not inconsiderable fame in this occupation was naturalized as a Mexican citizen in 1894. He married Matilde Calderón, and with her he had five children. Among these, a daughter, Frida Kahlo.

Other famous Germans include the celebrated architect and artist Mathias Goeritz. He came to Mexico and grew fascinated and lived for sometime in the Tizpan Progreso neighborhood, right between San Ángel  and San Jeronimo. There, he was offered a studio by German photographer, Ursula Bernath, then focused on the indigenous population and Mexican tradition.

But relations between the two countries go back years earlier when both slowly became nation states. In 1803, Alexander von Humboldt spent a year mapping the Mexican topography and studying the culture and history. In 1879, diplomatic relations were established only when German Unification was finally achieved.

After World War II, diplomatic relations were reestablished in 1952. In 2000, the Mexican embassy moved to Berlin after German re-unification. (The embassy building in Berlin was famously designed by Teodoro González de León.) The two countries are today signatories to multiple bilateral trade agreements. Germany is the fourth biggest source of foreign direct investment in Mexico among the countries of the European Union and the sixth biggest worldwide. The German Embassy is thus a busy place that welcomes visits for all kinds of consular services.

Hours: Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Fridays, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.