Doesn’t it look imposing? The Landgericht Lübeck stands here. It is a testament to Lübeck’s legal history. The Landgericht Lübeck is one of four Landgerichte in Schleswig-Holstein. It forms part of the state’s ordinary jurisdiction.
This Landgericht was established in October 1879. This establishment was part of the Reichsjustizreform. Karl Hoppenstedt was its first president. He remained the highest judge in Lübeck for over 31 years. The Landgericht Lübeck shares a building. It shares it with the Amtsgericht Lübeck. This building is at Burgfeld.
The court’s seat is in the Hanseatic city of Lübeck. The court district includes several Amtsgerichte. These are Ahrensburg, Eutin, Lübeck, Oldenburg in Holstein. Others are Ratzeburg, Reinbek, and Schwarzenbek. The district covers Herzogtum Lauenburg, Ostholstein, and Stormarn. It excludes Tangstedt. Tangstedt belongs to the Kiel district. The district also includes the city of Lübeck. Around 830000 people live here. The area spans approximately 3600 square kilometers.
From 1879 to 1937, the Hanseatic Oberlandesgericht in Hamburg had oversight. Then, the Oberlandesgericht Kiel took over. Since 1948, the Schleswig-Holsteinische Oberlandesgericht in Schleswig has been in charge. The Amtsgerichte Ahrensburg, Eutin, Oldenburg in Holstein, Ratzeburg, Reinbek, and Schwarzenbek are subordinate today. The Amtsgericht Lübeck is under the Landgericht. However, it is administratively independent.
The Landgericht Lübeck has its own Staatsanwaltschaft. This Staatsanwaltschaft reports to the Generalstaatsanwaltschaft. It is located at the Schleswig-Holsteinischen Oberlandesgericht in Schleswig. Its office is at Travemünder Allee 9. Arthur Gustav Kulenkamp and Ernst Christian Johannes Schön were notable Oberstaatsanwälte. They later became Lübeck mayors. Cay Diedrich Lienau was Erster Staatsanwalt from 1921 to 1932. He succeeded Johannes Daniel Benda.
Before Lübeck lost its independence in 1937, its judicial authority was already diminished. This happened in 1935. The Gleichschaltung der Justiz transferred power to the Reich.
Before the 1930s, a shift between the executive and judicial branches was common. Johann Martin Andreas Neumann served as a judge. He served at the Landgericht Lübeck from 1894. He was elected mayor in 1921.
Karl Hoppenstedt served from 1880 to 1910. A bust by Fritz Behn stands in the courtroom wing. Richard Oemler served from 1913 to 1930. Karl Utermarck served from 1931 to 1932. Clemens von Jagow served from 1956 to 1968. Silke Schneider served from 2020 to 2024. Wolfgang Nešković was a judge from 1981 to 2001. He became a Richter am Bundesgerichtshof in 2001. He was also a member of the Bundestag.
The Reichsjustizgesetze of 1879 created Amts-, Land- and Oberlandesgerichte. In Lübeck, only one Amtsgericht, the Amtsgericht Lübeck, was established. It was subordinate to the Landgericht Lübeck. It was also subordinate to the Oberlandesgericht Hamburg.
The Groß-Hamburg-Gesetz of 1937 made the Oberlandesgericht Kiel responsible. The Landgericht Lübeck’s district expanded significantly.
Several well-known cases have been heard here at the Landgericht Lübeck. These include the Marienkirchen-Kunstfälscherprozess against Lothar Malskat. Also, there was a process against Arwed Imiela. The Calmette-Prozess about the “Lübecker Impfunglück” took place here. The process against Christian Bogner also happened here. The Landgericht Lübeck saw the reversal of death sentences. These were imposed after the Gefecht um das polnische Postamt in Danzig. A procedure against Marianne Bachmeier also took place. The Sperrung von wikipedia.de by Lutz Heilmann in 2008 occurred here.
The Gerichtshaus on Burgfeld replaced the old one. The old one was in der Großen Burgstraße 4. The new building was inaugurated on March 8, 1962. The complex has an eight-story office building. It also has a three-story wing with 18 courtrooms.
The building at Am Burgfeld 7 now houses the Landgericht Lübeck. It also houses large parts of the Amtsgericht Lübeck.