Sight, Culture
Gerichtslaube (old court house)
Freiburg can boast not just one town hall, but three. You can find out how this has developed over the years in our text about the New Town Hall. But this much can be revealed: The Gerichtslaube is the oldest of Freiburg's administrative buildings.
Located behind the Old Town Hall and opposite the Fasnet Museum, the pretty gabled house was built from sandstone at the end of the 13th/beginning of the 14th century.
The courthouse gained its historical significance 100 years later, when King Maximilian I convened the Imperial Diet in Freiburg in 1498. The rooms of the newly built Kornhaus, which would have been far more spacious, were actually intended to be used for the meetings and celebrations. However, the builders were unable to keep to their schedule and the king at the time complained about the lack of space in the court arbor. At the beginning of the 16th century, the town then decided to rebuild the building. The large council chamber was added on top and connected to the existing rooms by a staircase.
The buildings around the town hall square were largely destroyed in the bombing raid of 1944. Only the foundation walls, parts of the west wall and the archive wing of the courthouse survived the bombing. The beautiful flight of steps was badly damaged. Since the completion of the reconstruction in 1979, there have been two function rooms in the courthouse arbour, which are used for official receptions.
Insider info: The purity law for wine was once established in the Gerichtslaube, even before the corresponding regulation for beer existed.
