The ''Landgericht Bremen'' in the courthouse of the State of Bremen on the

Domsheide Domsheide is a major square in the city of Bremen, Germany. It is located east of the Marktplatz and south of Bremen Cathedral. Streets leading to it include Ostertorstraße, Dechanatstraße, Balgebrückstraße and Violenstraße. It contains a nu ...

in the old town of

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

, Germany. It was built in the late 19th century in the

French Renaissance The French Renaissance was the cultural and artistic movement in France between the 15th and early 17th centuries. The period is associated with the pan-European Renaissance, a word first used by the French historian Jules Michelet to define th ...

style and completed in 1906. It has been a listed building since 1992. In addition to the judicial services of the regional court, the building houses sections of the Public Prosecutor's department ('' Staatsanwaltschaft'') and of the district court (''

Amtsgericht An ''Amtsgericht'' (District Court) in Germany is an official court. These courts form the lowest level of the so-called 'ordinary jurisdiction' of the German judiciary (German ''Ordentliche Gerichtsbarkeit''), which is responsible for most crim ...

'').

History and architecture

The courthouse and remand prison were built from 1891 to 1895 and from 1902 to 1906 by the

Oldenburg Oldenburg may also refer to: Places *Mount Oldenburg, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica *Oldenburg (city), an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany **Oldenburg (district), a district historically in Oldenburg Free State and now in Lower Saxony *Olde ...

architects

Ludwig Klingenberg Ludwig may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ludwig (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Ludwig (surname), including a list of people * Ludwig Ahgren, or simply Ludwig, American YouTube live streamer and ...

(1840–1924) and his partner Hugo Weber. Together with the two wings of the remand prison, the sprawling complex extends over an entire block. The design is based on the functional requirements of its judicial services although its staircase and courtroom fully reflect the sophistications of the period. The outer walls are inspired by French Renaissance architecture, especially features from the

Château de Blois A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Nowaday ...

, and are richly decorated. The statue of ''Justice'' on Ostertorstraße is the work of Rudolph Lauer (1852–1900). Largely spared by the effects of the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

, the building has been restored on several occasions. A plaque on the Ostertorstraße reads: ''Dies Haus ist gewidmet dem Rechte zum Schutz – dem Boesen zum Trutz'' (This building is dedicated to upholding the law and to defying evil). The impressive sandstone and bronze decorations of the

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

include lions, the heads of

Megaera Megaera ( ; grc, Μέγαιρα, Mégaira, the jealous one) is one of the Erinyes, Eumenides or "Furies" in Greek mythology. '' Bibliotheca Classica'' states "According to the most received opinions, they were three in number, Tisiphone, "Me ...

and

Medusa In Greek mythology, Medusa (; Ancient Greek: Μέδουσα "guardian, protectress"), also called Gorgo, was one of the three monstrous Gorgons, generally described as winged human females with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Those ...

, and dragons spouting rainwater. The massive round towers, the diamond-shaped decorations on the facade, the granite window frames together with the

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

s, the round-arched windows and the combination of styles are all typical of the Wilhelmistic chapter of

Historicist Historicism is an approach to explaining the existence of phenomena, especially social and cultural practices (including ideas and beliefs), by studying their history, that is, by studying the process by which they came about. The term is widely u ...

architecture. Stained-glass windows depict the

Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ� ...

above the entrance and the

cardinal virtues The cardinal virtues are four virtues of mind and character in both classical philosophy and Christian theology. They are prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. They form a virtue theory of ethics. The term ''cardinal'' comes from the ...

in the first floor windows overlooking Violenstraße. The figures of animals and birds decorating the

corbels In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the st ...

symbolize vice in the struggle for virtue. The Hanseatic Arms are presented in the form of a

maiolica Maiolica is tin-glazed pottery decorated in colours on a white background. Italian maiolica dating from the Renaissance period is the most renowned. When depicting historical and mythical scenes, these works were known as ''istoriato'' wares ( ...

crest representing shipping and trade.

Gallery

File:Gerichtsgebaeude 061.jpg, Kaiser Wilhelm statue File:Gerichtsgebaeude 083.JPG, Cornice File:Gerichtsgebaeude 047.JPG, Entrance to courtyard File:Gerichtsgebaeude 059.jpg, Corbel File:Gerichtsgebäude Bremen Landgericht 0297.JPG, Side view File:Gerichtsgebaeude 036.JPG, Facade with dedication plaque File:Gerichtsgebaeude 085.JPG, Round tower

References

Literature

* * {{Authority control Courts in Germany Buildings and structures in Bremen (city) Renaissance Revival architecture in Germany Buildings and structures completed in 1906 1906 establishments in Germany

History and architecture

Gallery

See also

References

Literature