Building the Court

After years of abstinence, the building of the Federal Constitutional Court is once again making an appearance on German television screens, in reports about the activities of the highest German court. After its extensive renovation, the judges have moved back into their traditional public office building, next to the Karlsruhe castle. The architect Paul Baumgarten built the building in 1965–1969, which does not represent the power of the state with imposing imperial architecture, but instead embodies a free, democratic spirit with its modern, transparent building forms. Its careful restoration was faithful to its origins and now the previously somewhat unnoticed building shines in a new splendor and can be appreciated as one of the earliest examples of the new state architecture of the young Federal Republic of Germany. This book illuminates its building history, reports about the history and work of the court, and presents the building: and its renovation in detail.