Bundesverfassungsgericht

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Building

Prinz Max Palais

The Court began its work in the Prinz Max Palais in 1951. This building from the 1880s is located in the centre of Karlsruhe, near Europaplatz. It was named after Prince Max of Baden, successor to the throne of Baden and the last Imperial Chancellor of the German Empire, who lived there between 1900 and 1918.

The Prinz Max Palais soon became too small for the Court. As early as 1959, Justice Gebhard Müller, the Federal Constitutional Court’s President at the time, expressed the wish for a new building. In 1965, construction began of the complex in Karlsruhe’s Schlossbezirk, next to the Karlsruhe Palace. It is situated on the site of the former palace theatre which was destroyed during World War II, between Schlossplatz and the botanical gardens. The complex was constructed by Berlin architect Paul Baumgarten. With its open style, he intended to reflect democratic transparency and distinguish the building from the 19th-century style palaces of justice. The Federal Constitutional Court moved into the new building in the spring of 1969. Construction costs amounted to almost DM 20 million.

The Baumgarten Building

The Baumgarten Building consists of five parts. They are connected by a straight corridor which is more than 70 metres long.

• The tallest part is the courtroom building; it is a particular showcase of the building’s transparency. Glass walls allow seeing inside the courtroom with its federal eagle, a wooden sculpture created by Hans Kindermann that weighs several tons. A large foyer as well as the plenary room are located on the ground floor of the courtroom building. A reception room and the press room are situated on the floor in between.

• The adjacent part houses the Justices’ offices; due to its layout, it is also known as Richterring (“Justices’ Circle”). It “floats” above ground on steel pillars. The offices and deliberation room of the First Senate are located on the first floor, those of the Second Senate are located on the second floor.

• The library is on the other side of the corridor, facing the botanical gardens. The extensive library collection is stored across two floors underground. The library offices, a reading room, and an exhibition on the Court’s early years in the Prinz Max Palais are located on the ground floor.

• The Court’s administration and some of the judicial clerks’ offices are located in the part adjoining the Palace.
• The building facing the Staatliche Kunsthalle houses further offices, a meeting room and a lounge. Until 1995, this pavilion had a public restaurant with a terrace facing the botanical gardens.

Since 1982, the Federal Constitutional Court has rented additional office space in the north-western wing of the Palace. These offices are connected to the Court by an underground corridor.

Discover the Federal Constitutional Court on a virtual tour of the building designed by architect Paul Baumgarten.

Extension building

Most of the judicial clerks’ offices are located in the modern extension building that was designed by Berlin-based architect Michael Schrölkamp and completed in 2007. This is a three-storey building with a green façade facing the botanical gardens and is connected to the Baumgarten Building by a glass corridor.

Renovation of the Baumgarten Building

From 2011 to 2014, the Baumgarten Building was fully renovated, which cost approximately EUR 55 million. Extensive construction measures were required to preserve and modernise the building, which is a listed monument, such as improvements to energy efficiency, replacement of most of the building’s technical installations and improvements to the fire safety system. During this time, the Justices and part of the staff moved into the Waldstadt offices in the converted former General Kammhuber Barracks.

In September 2014, all Justices and staff members of the Federal Constitutional Court returned to the building complex in the Schlossbezirk.

Please click here for a gallery with images of the building complex in Karlsruhe’s Schlossbezirk.