The Justizpalast (Palace of Justice) on Karlsplatz-Stachus (square) has always been the seat of the Bavarian judiciary. This neo-baroque building is not only an architectural marvel, but has also hosted numerous high-profile legal trials that attracted widespread attention beyond Munich.
The Justizpalast was built between 1891 and 1897 on behalf of Prince Regent Luitpold according to plans by architect Friedrich von Thiersch. It stands on the edge of the Old Botanical Gardens, close to Munich's Hauptbahnhof (main station). In keeping with the taste of the time, the judicial and administrative building was built in neo-baroque style. The Justizpalast is located just outside the historic city centre in Maxvorstadt, the first district of Munich to be built after the expansion of the city in the late 18th century.
The gable of the central building features a prominent figure of Justizia, flanked by two other female figures symbolising Innocence and Vice. The interior of the building is equally striking, with a grand hall, topped by a 60-metre-high glass dome. Two open staircases on either side of the ground floor lead to the three upper corridors. The upper floors house the offices of the Bavarian State Ministry of Justice, while the lower floors contain the civil chambers of Munich Regional Court I.
On 18 February 1943, Hans and Sophie Scholl dropped flyers into the atrium of Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich. These flyers condemned the senseless loss of life at the Battle of Stalingrad and called for resistance against the tyranny of the National Socialist dictatorship. The siblings were arrested, subjected to a short show trial before the notorious “Volksgerichtshof” (People's Court) in the Justizpalast. Just four days later, they were executed along with their fellow student Christoph Probst.
Today, a courtroom in the Justizpalast has been designed as a memorial to the members of the Weiße Rose resistance group. This space is part of the permanent exhibition “Political caprice in the Name of the German People: The Destruction of the Constitutional State under National Socialism – The Weiße Rose Trials at Munich's Justizpalast”. Visitors can explore the exhibition individually or as part of a guided tour.
In the early years of the Federal Republic of Germany, shortly after the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1962, a double murder on Starnberger See (lake) caused quite a stir. Vera Brühne stood in the dock at the Justizpalast in Munich and continued to maintain her innocence, even after her conviction in what became a sensational circumstantial trial. The trial sparked media uproar. Prejudices and disrespectful reporting, particularly towards women, continued into the 1970s, as seen in the trial of Ingrid van Bergen for the murder of her lover. More recently, in 2014, the criminal trial of Uli Hoeneß for tax evasion also took place at the Justizpalast.
