The Federal Constitutional Court began its work in the former residence of Prince Max of Baden in Karlsruhe’s Karlstraße in 1951. The present building, which is located next to the Karlsruhe Palace, was constructed from 1965 to 1969 according to plans by the Berlin architect Paul Baumgarten. Complying with the request of the Justices of the Federal Constitutional Court, Baumgarten avoided the use of majestic symbolism. He created a new form of functional dignity with his transparent and open style. From whichever side one views the building, the interior is also visible. The transparent openness of Baumgarten’s architecture has become a symbol of the democratic spirit and the free constitutional order.
Since 1982, the Court has also used office space in the north-west wing of the neighbouring Karlsruhe Palace. Moreover, a new building was constructed in 2005 and 2006 to house most of the judicial clerks. The Baumgarten building complex was fully renovated from 2011 to 2014, at a cost of approximately EUR 46 million. During the renovation, the Court’s Justices and some staff members were housed in the former Kammhuber Barracks, which had been converted into the Court’s temporary Waldstadt offices.
In 2014, all Justices and staff members of the Federal Constitutional Court returned to the Court building next to the Karlsruhe Palace.
The Baumgarten building complex consists of five parts, which are connected by a straight corridor that is more than 70 metres long.
The highest building houses the courtroom. Here, the ethos of transparency is particularly evident. Glass walls make it possible to look inside the courtroom with its wooden eagle, a sculpture created by artist Hans Kindermann that weighs several hundred kilos.
Standing almost as high as the courtroom, the building known as the ‘Justices’ Circle’ is the seat of the two Senates, with the Justices’ offices arranged on two floors around an inner courtyard.
The three other, lower buildings house the library, the IT/documentation service, some of the judicial clerks as well as a conference room and a staff lounge.
