Robinson Barracks is a military base of

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

in the Burgholzhof community in the northern

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

district of

Bad Cannstatt Bad Cannstatt (), also called Cannstatt (until July 23, 1933) or Kannstadt (until 1900), is one of the outer Stadtbezirke, or city boroughs, of Stuttgart in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Bad Cannstatt is the oldest and most populous of Stuttgart' ...

. Unlike Patch Barracks and

Kelley Barracks Kelley Barracks (formerly ''Helenen-Kaserne'') is a U.S. military installation and headquarters of United States Africa Command, and is a part of US Army Garrison Stuttgart in Stuttgart-Möhringen in Germany. The post is administered by IMCOM- Eu ...

, also located in Stuttgart, the modern Robinson Barracks is now largely a residential neighborhood for

US Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...

personnel stationed in the greater Stuttgart area operated and administered by IMCOM-Europe. The installation is named after 1st Lt. James E. Robinson, Jr. (1918–1945), an

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

officer posthumously awarded the

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during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

History

The military use of the site began in 1927 with the construction of a training ground named Flandern for the

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

's 119th Infantry Regiment. In 1934, an adjacent farm was impounded and barracks were constructed which later became the adjacent Grenadier Kaserne (now closed). After

the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

used the installation as a

displaced person Forced displacement (also forced migration or forced relocation) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The UNHCR defines 'forced displacement' as follows: displaced "as a result of perse ...

s camp until 1949 when the installation became an

post renamed Robinson Barracks. From that time through the end of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, Robinson Barracks and Grenadier Kaserne operated largely as a housing area, shopping area and logistical support activity for the Stuttgart Military Community, which covered 13 installations over an area the size of Rhode Island and over 32,000 soldiers and civilian staff. The former Wallace Barracks, now the Römerkastell development, lies just downhill from Robinson Barracks and was used by the main Stuttgart PX for storage. During the 1950s, the US Army built most of the housing and other facilities used during the Cold War era, including the largest PX in Europe. After the fall of the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the B ...

, the United States began to draw down the force structure in Europe, including the 1992 deactivation of

VII Corps (United States) The VII Army Corps of the United States Army was one of the two principal corps of the United States Army Europe during the Cold War. Activated in 1918 for World War I, it was reactivated for World War II and again during the Cold War. During b ...

, headquartered in Stuttgart at

and responsible for almost all activities in Stuttgart excepting EUCOM at Patch Barracks. In 1993, the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

returned the portion of the installation that formerly hosted Europe's largest PX to the German government, which was redeveloped from 1996 to 2006 as a highly energy efficient neighborhood called Burgholzhof that is now home to about 3,000 people. With the ongoing realignment of the US forces in Europe there has been an increased demand for housing in Stuttgart and the Army is currently engaged in a renovation project of the facilities on Robinson Barracks. Due to ongoing security concerns for force protection, the US Army has installed a perimeter fence around the formerly open installation. Under current plans, Robinson Barracks will continue to operate by providing housing and support to the enduring-designated Stuttgart Military Community, centered on the 2 US Unified Commands headquartered in Stuttgart— EUCOM and AFRICOM.

Education

From 1953 to 1955 Stuttgart American High School was operated at Robinson Barracks until being moved to nearby Pattonville—a now-closed US housing area where it operated until 1992 with the drawdown of US forces in Germany and disbanding of

. Currently, students from Robinson Barracks attend Stuttgart American High School located on Panzer Kaserne. DODEA operates an Elementary School at the installation.

AFN Stuttgart

During the Cold War the US operated a significant network of AFN radio and television broadcast stations throughout Germany, and the Stuttgart community was served by a regional network based at Robinson Barracks from 1959 to 1993. With the withdrawal of US forces from Mannheim and Heidelberg, the AFN operations based there are being relocated to Robinson Barracks in 2013 after an interim period at Patch Barracks while permanent facilities are prepared.

Burgholzhof Observation Tower

The Observation Tower Burgholzhof is a well-known landmark, built in 1891, that was just outside the installation prior to its reduction in size. During

the tower was used by anti-aircraft spotter personnel keeping a look-out for Allied bomber attacks (more information here). With the redevelopment of the Stuttgart PX site as the Burgholzhof, the tower has become a symbol of the neighborhood. The tower is open free to the public May–October, 10:00–18:00, on weekends only.

References

External links

US European Command

US Africa Command

General Information about the Stuttgart Military Community

Official Stuttgart Military Community Newspaper

Stuttgart VVS Public Transit Map for Robinson Barracks Area

* ttps://benefits.military.com/misc/installations/Base_Content.jsp?id=1930 Installation Guide for the Stuttgart Military Community
Stuttgart Community Spouses Club

Stuttgart Subjects at Toytown Germany- an English-language community website for Germany.

* ttp://imageevent.com/aymar55/dodhousingareas2/robinsonbarracks;jsessionid=244mz95d71.goose_s Photo tour of redeveloped portion of Robinson Barracks {{coord, 48, 49, 17, N, 9, 11, 16, E, region:DE-BW_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Barracks of the United States Army in Germany Military installations established in 1949 United States military in Stuttgart