Moabit Criminal Court

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View of the building complex of the Moabit Criminal Court in Turmstrasse

In the as Kriminalgericht Moabit designated complex in Berlin district center , the district Moabit , the majority of Berlin is criminal justice housed. With 340 judges and 360 public prosecutors, it is the largest criminal court in Europe.

history

The no longer existing original building of the Moabit Criminal Court from 1882 (Old Criminal Court)

The original - no longer preserved - structure, the "old" criminal court, was built between 1877 and 1881 according to a design by Heinrich Herrmann with the assistance of August Busse . February 1882 to enable extensive use. It was on Rathenower Strasse on the corner with Alt-Moabit Street . In World War II destroyed the remains were removed 1,953th

Today's Building A was built in 1902–1906 as a “new” criminal court on Turmstrasse behind the prison and takes up an entire square of houses. The secret senior building officer Paul Thoemer and the state building inspector Jean Fasquel created the building plans, Rudolf Mönnich and Carl Vohl directed the construction work.

Main staircase in the entrance hall

In keeping with the Wilhelmine era, a monumental building with 21 courtrooms was built for the Berlin judiciary. Both the accused and the visitors to the building were to be impressed by the architecture through a massive entrance hall with curved stairs. The prisoners on remand are brought to the courtroom via hidden corridors and stairs. This should reduce contact with witnesses and prevent involuntary meetings with audiences.

architecture

Technically, the neo-baroque building was very modern when it was erected in 1906: the monumental building ensemble of the Prussian building administration was the first electrically illuminated building in Berlin. When it was completed, it had its own power station, goods and passenger lifts, central heating, its own telephone system and its own water supply with a water tower. Also to be emphasized is the unique corridor and ventilation system, which makes it possible to lead the accused to the courtrooms non-publicly. The building, considered a symbol of Wilhelminism due to its monumental architecture, was criticized by the chief public prosecutor in 2000 as an “imperial punch in the face of the Moabit working class”.

The goddess Justitia can be seen as a sandstone sculpture in Turmstrasse, directly above the main gate in the shield . Another Justitia was placed on the inner archway of the central hall, the index finger and middle finger of the right hand are raised to take an oath: “The truth shows those who enter the way”.

The two towers reach a height of 60 meters. The street front along Turmstrasse is 210 meters. Due to the increasing tasks of the Berlin judiciary and the proximity of the prison, the other building parts B to E along the Wilsnacker Straße have been added to the original building in a modern and functional architecture. In the 21st century, the entire complex comprises over twelve inner courtyards, including the “Galgenhof”, and 17 stairwells.

In courtyard C of the New Criminal Court there is the inscription “The sun brings it to light”, an exact interpretation has not (yet) been found. It is said to be based on a fairy tale published by Adelbert von Chamisso from the collection of the Brothers Grimm in 1827.

  • photos

  • Turmstrasse, Moabit Criminal Court

  • Entrance portal

  • Allegorical figures

  • Indoor

  • Vaulted ceiling

Facilities

The term “criminal court” only refers to the building; there is no legal entity with this name. The criminal departments responsible for all of Berlin, including the juvenile criminal departments of the Tiergarten District Court , which are not located in the Kirchstrasse 6 building, reside in the building . Furthermore, the criminal chambers of the Berlin Regional Court and a large part of the Berlin Public Prosecutor's Office are located in the building . The common address is Turmstrasse 91, 10559 Berlin. Behind the extensive court building complex is the Moabit remand prison with the postal address Alt-Moabit 12a, 10559 Berlin.

In the building complex that was once built for 900 employees (excluding the buildings at Kirchstrasse 6), around 2000 people now work, including a good 240 judges , 80 judicial officers and 300 public prosecutors . Around 1,300 remand prisoners from 80 nations are housed, and 2,000 visitors, witnesses and people involved in the trial come every day.

Around 60,000 new criminal proceedings are received in Moabit every year , plus around 100,000 cases of “other business cases ” such as penalty orders and enforcement, and around 24,000 fines . The evidence is stored in 30 rooms in the basement on 2500 square meters . Around 20,000 custody items are added each year and around 19,000 evidence leaves the rooms in the weekly auction once their purpose has been fulfilled.

The facility is considered underfunded and its equipment is out of date.

Processes (selection)

Heinrich Zille : Moabit , 1911
(text: "... and then you hit the witness with an instrument!" -
"I woe Herr Richter, I have never owned a piano!")
In the large jury court, proceedings for the Barmat scandal in 1925

The most famous cases heard in the Moabit Criminal Court include:

literature

Web links

Commons : Kriminalgericht Moabit  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Sven Böll: Our weak state . In: Der Spiegel . No. 28 , 2017, p. 42-44 ( online ).
  2. ^ The new criminal court in Berlin-Moabit , Anzeiger zum Centralblatt der Bauverwaltung , February 18, 1882, pp. 56 and 57, accessed on December 8, 2012.
  3. ↑ luise-berlin.de: Kriminalgericht Moabit , accessed on January 15, 2013
  4. ↑ On the history of the Tiergarten District Court on berlin.de ; accessed on February 6, 2018.
  5. ↑ a b c Alois Wosnitza (Ed.): The new criminal court in Moabit. Festschrift for the 100th birthday , 2006, Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag GmbH, ISBN 978-3-8305-1176-2 .
  6. ^ The penal colony of Moabit . In: Die Zeit , No. 37/2000
  7. ↑ Berliner Woche , February 24, 2010, p. 8.

Coordinates: 52 ° 31 ′ 35 ″  N , 13 ° 21 ′ 10 ″  E