Justizpalast

JUSTIZPALAST: Munich’s old “Palace of Justice” has archways, statues on the roof and a massive glass dome.
Soaring above the perpetual traffic free-for-all of Karlsplatz (Stachus) it reminds you of another time, another Munich when classical elegance was admired and getting around meant a horse and buggy.

History and infamy

The "Palace of Justice" looms large above the
fountain at Karlsplatz (Stachus).

The neo-baroque structure was designed by Friedrich von Thiersch 1890-1897. This was Germany’s Golden Age; the Thirty Years’ War and Napoleonic Wars were ended, German scientists and businessmen were the world’s shrewdest and the middle class was booming.
This era is remembered as the Gründerzeit or “Founder Epoch”, when Kaiser Wilhelm and Chancellor Bismarck gave Germany a formidable presence on the world stage.

Flash forward 50 years and we see a much different picture.
In 1943 German armies were fighting an increasingly futile war to hold onto the newly conquered Nazi empire. Dissenters to the regime were still uncommon in Germany, but they were there. Die Weiße Rose (The White Rose) was a group of political resisters operating in Munich. Three of the group’s central figures, siblings Hans and Sophie Scholl and Christoph Probst, were discovered and thrown before a court at the Justizpalast on 22 February. Just a few hours after the sham trial, they were beheaded.

Worth a visit?

A postcard showing Munich's "Palace of Justice" at the end of the 1800s.

Have a look inside the building if you want to see the impressive central atrium and duck up to courtroom 253, which houses a permanent exhibit about the White Rose trial.
The Palace of Justice is still in use and known as the Bavarian Department of Justice and the District Court I. Just behind it there’s a red stone building, the Neue Justizpalast (New Palace of Justice), which houses the Bavarian Constitutional Court and the Higher Regional Court.

The Details

Location Prielmayer Strasse 7. It’s on the north-west corner of Karlsplatz (Stachus)
Cost Free admission
Open weekdays 9am to 4pm

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