The Palace of Justice (german: Justizpalast) is the seat of the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

(''Oberster Gerichtshof'') of

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. The

Neo-Renaissance Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range ...

building erected from 1875 to 1881 is located in the Austrian capital

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

on Schmerlingplatz, a square near the

Ringstraße The Vienna Ring Road (german: Ringstraße, lit. ''ring road'') is a 5.3 km (3.3 mi) circular grand boulevard that serves as a ring road around the historic Innere Stadt (Inner Town) district of Vienna, Austria. The road is located on sites where ...

boulevard in the central

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...

Innere Stadt The Innere Stadt (; Central Bavarian: ''Innare Stod'') is the 1st municipal district of Vienna () located in the center of the Austrian capital. The Innere Stadt is the old town of Vienna. Until the city boundaries were expanded in 1850, the I ...

. In addition to the Supreme Court, the Palace of Justice houses the Higher Regional Court of Vienna and the Regional Court for Civil Matters Vienna and the General Prosecution and the Supreme Public Prosecutor for Vienna.

History

The building was projected by the

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 ...

architect Alexander Wielemans von Monteforte (1843–1911) as the new residence of the Supreme Court established in the course of the

1848 revolutions The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europe ...

and headed by President

Anton von Schmerling Anton Ritter von Schmerling (23 August 180523 May 1893) was an Austrian statesman. Life Von Schmerling was born in Vienna, where his father held a high position on the judicial side of the civil service. After studying law at Vienna, in 1829 Sch ...

since 1865. In the Austrian

July Revolt of 1927 The July Revolt of 1927 (also known as the Vienna Palace of Justice fire, german: Wiener Justizpalastbrand) was a major riot starting on 15 July 1927 in the Austrian capital, Vienna. The revolt was sparked by the acquittal of three nationalis ...

, violent demonstrations took place after a jury had acquitted several

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

paramilitaries who during an armed conflict with

Social Democratic Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...

Schutzbund The Republikanischer Schutzbund (, ''Republican Protection League'') was an Austrian paramilitary organization established in 1923 by the Social Democratic Party (SDAPÖ) to secure power in the face of rising political radicalization after World ...

members in

Schattendorf Schattendorf ( hr, Šundrof, hu, Somfalva) is a town in the district of Mattersburg in the Austrian state of Burgenland. The Rosalia-Kogelberg nature preserve lies within the district. History This district was a part of the pre-Christian Ce ...

had shot a disabled World War I veteran and an eight-year-old child. In the morning of July 15 numerous protesters gathered in front of the

Austrian Parliament Building The Austrian Parliament Building (german: Parlamentsgebäude, colloquially ''das Parlament'') in Vienna is where the two houses of the Austrian Parliament conduct their sessions. The building is located on the '' Ringstraße'' boulevard in the ...

but were pushed towards Schmerlingplatz by the mounted police force. Several demonstrators broke into the ground-floor rooms and began to demolish furniture and files. At about half past twelve, the Palace was set on fire. During their attempts to extinguish the fire the Vienna firefighters were attacked, hoses were cut and hydrants ran out of water. The fire rapidly spread out all over the building and it took until the early morning to get it under control. Between 1929 and 1931 the palace was restored with significant modifications of the façade and the addition of a new level. The restoration, in a historicist style, was carried out by Viennese architects Heinrich Ried and Alfred Keller. In a sweeping general renovation a few years ago, the Palace was forced to meet both the stringent requirements of monument protection as well as those of a modern office in order to provide proper service to litigants.

References

External links

360° Panorama in the main hall
* {{coord, 48, 12, 23, N, 16, 21, 26, E, source:dewiki, display=title Buildings and structures in Vienna Buildings and structures in Innere Stadt Courthouses National supreme court buildings 1881 establishments in Austria

History

See also

References

External links