summary 614 and the composition and the elements were fundamentally classicist. Although buildings around year 1900 were planned much larger than before and given the design of an urban mansion, the concept represented well-known grounds for all involved. After 1910, on the other hand, there were also architects who chose to break with tradition and design courthouses with radically separated functions and asymmetrical compositions.However, as an effect of changing ideals, the previous layout, now even more symmetrical, and classicist style returned in the 1920s and 1930s. Between1895and1905,38new courthouses were built,most of them in towns or urban districts.The late 19th century changes in modes of travel affected the localization of rural district courts, as did the continuous merging of judicial districts. Brick was now the predominant construction material and the architecture was stylistically eclectic,most frequently neo-baroque with Art Noveau elements. The divergence between conceived and built courthouse was in general smaller than in previous times and in most cases, the materialization of the drawings meant few alterations.The changes that were still being made mainly consisted in complementary additions concerning the courtroom, which was often adjusted several times during the last phases of the building process. Compared to thedetermination shown in other fields, it appears as if no one had a precise notion the furnishing of the courtroom. Other additions were also common, for instance decorative elements such as quotes of ancient laws painted as friezes on the courtroom walls. During the 19th century, the number of sessions per year increased and by1900, the court normally gathered once a month, although only for a few days. In the periods between session days, the judge and two or three law clerks worked in the actual courthouse where the district court administration was situated. Since the building also included an apartment intended for the usher and housekeeper and several rooms for law clerks, it was always filled with people. Some courthouses even contained a large apartment reserved for the judge and his family. In regards to the practices of court sessions, they had basically not changed since the turn of 1800, although the need for a new code of judicial procedure was under debate. Since the courtroom had become much larger and more church-like in its layout than before, the distance between various participants had increased and made hearing more difficult. The court sat on a platform and, similar to the old courtrooms,
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjYyNDk=