It is not easy to imagine that complex trials by the jury will take place here in just a few months.

Room 146 in Courthouse A, built in 1889 and the oldest part of the Konstablerwache Justice District, is a major construction site.

The floor has been torn out, revealing the brick vaults of the floor below.

Walls are secured with steel supports, scaffolding stands in front of the windows.

Gunter Murr

Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

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But looking up shows that this hall was once built as a jewel and could regain its original splendor.

After the false ceiling from the 1950s was removed, a magnificent coffered stucco ceiling was revealed.

It will be restored and will be on display in the future.

Justice Minister Roman Poseck and Finance Minister Michael Boddenberg (both CDU) found out about the renovation work, which should be completed in autumn.

More space for spectators

They saw a hall that not only regained its original height, but also increased overall.

This is due to increased public interest in the often high-profile trials of the Assizes.

In order to have space for a total of 100 spectators, the wall opposite the judges' bench will be removed.

That sounds easier than it is, as it entails a complex static auxiliary construction in the building, which is a listed building.

Because the wall, which has to give way for the enlargement of the hall, has so far taken the weight of one of the turrets that characterize the representative building from the Wilhelmine era.

In order for the building to remain stable, a construction was installed on the floor above the hall, which Thomas Platte, Director of the State Office for Construction and Real Estate in Hesse,

referred to as a craft.

The massive steel girders are not reminiscent of the romantic beams, but after the work is completed there will be nothing to see anyway.

"It's extraordinary that the preservation of historical monuments is going along with it," says Platte.

In the hall, you will not see at first glance that it is equipped with special acoustic elements that are intended to facilitate communication in the negotiations.

In addition, safety technology is installed according to current requirements.

There will be a solid pane between the auditorium and the area for the court and those involved in the process, and the windows facing the court street will be fitted with bulletproof glass.

Old entrance is reactivated

In the future, those involved in the trial and the spectators will be able to reach the jury courtroom from the court street.

For this purpose, the old main entrance to courthouse A, which was closed for security reasons at some point during the RAF trials, will be reactivated.

Individual sandstone elements have already been replaced.

The previously open portico will be glazed and used in the future as an entrance hall with a separation system.

The further control is then carried out inside in a room that is currently being renovated.

Platte anticipates costs of around eight million euros for the work around the jury courtroom - and is confident that this framework will not be exceeded despite the current increase in construction costs.

However, this is a comparatively small project.

The country is investing a total of around 500 million euros in the country's largest justice center, said Boddenberg.

The planned new buildings, with which the judicial authorities will have better working conditions and more space, will have a major impact here.

According to Poseck, additional space is needed simply because of the 477 new jobs that Hesse is creating in the judiciary.

More than 100 of these were in Frankfurt.

Alternative quarters in Niederrad

When the courtroom in building A is ready, building C on Konrad-Adenauer-Strasse, where the Great Criminal Court is currently hearing, can be vacated.

Temporary quarters in Niederrad were rented for the offices that had previously been housed there, including the evidence office.

The demolition of Building C, planned for early 2024, will be the task of the private partner that the country is currently seeking.

Instead of Building C, it is to erect a new building that is twice as large and also to replace the already vacated Building Z on Heiligkreuzgasse.

Four years are estimated for the new buildings.

When they are expected to be completed in 2028, the renovation of buildings A, B and E will continue.

Among other things, the roof of building A needs to be replaced.

Platte expects all work to be completed by 2035 at the latest.

The approximately 2,000 employees of the judicial authorities will have to cope with restrictions until then.

"But they are pleased that the location is being developed further and that there is no new greenfield site," said Poseck.

He was alluding to considerations from 2008 to relocate courts and the public prosecutor's office to a new building on Adickesallee and to redevelop the justice district.

After considerable protests from those affected, these plans were dropped in 2009.

Boddenberg learned from these discussions: "The city society has a great interest in this traditional location." That is why the decisions were not made solely from an economic point of view.

For Poseck it is clear: "The judiciary must be clearly visible in the city center."