Reichenspergerplatz Court Building

The Higher Regional Court of Cologne traces back to the Rhenish Court of Appeal, founded in 1819 by King Frederick William III; it has carried its present name since 1879. When the older court building on Appellhofplatz proved too small as early as 1907, a new building at Reichenspergerplatz was planned. Excavation began in October 1907, and four years later the building was handed over to its purpose. At its inauguration it was regarded as the largest court building in Germany and was strikingly modern for its time – equipped with electric lighting, a telephone system, a lift and electric dust extraction.

The Second World War left it a ruin. The 1950s reconstruction did without large parts of the façade decoration. During an extensive renovation in the 1980s and 1990s, the main staircase and its dome were restored to their original form.

Beyond the portal opens a lofty entrance hall whose open, symmetrical flights of stairs form the design highlight – as in many courthouses of the era. The central staircase with its skylight leads up to the courtrooms and offices; seven further staircases sit at the corners and mid-corridors. The corridors add up to more than four kilometres in length, linking the wings of the building, which is lit by three large and four small interior courtyards. Originally the plans called for a plenary hall, 35 courtrooms and 400 offices. On the first upper floor (corridor H) a memorial commemorates the court staff who fell in the First World War.