Bundesverwaltungsgericht

In Leipzig, the Bundesverwaltungsgericht occupies a monumental court building beside the uncovered Pleißemühlgraben canal. Its dome rises 68.5 metres above an east-facing entrance and Eduard-von-Simson-Platz.

Ludwig Hoffmann and Peter Dybwad won the architectural competition held in 1884 and 1885. Construction lasted from 1888 to 1895, creating the Reichsgerichtsgebäude for the German Empire’s supreme court. Italian late Renaissance forms meet Roman antiquity and French Baroque influences across the façade. Since 2002, the building has served as Germany’s Federal Administrative Court. Restoration between 1998 and 2001 added a discreet rooftop floor, while preserving the historic exterior.

The north side displays sculptures of figures from German legal history, including Eike von Repgow and Friedrich Carl von Savigny. Inside, reliefs, wall paintings and sculptures explore investigation, judgment, execution and mercy. The Great Courtroom contains coats of arms from the former German states, while stained glass shows cities with higher regional courts. A 5.5-metre sculpture called Die Wahrheit crowns the dome, bringing the total height to 74 metres.

City: Leipzig
Content updated: 2026-06-22

Image: Hermann WalterPublic domain
Image: Hermann WalterPublic domain
Image: UnknownUnknown CC BY-SA 3.0 de
Image: Photo: Andreas Praefcke CC BY 3.0
Image: Photo: Andreas Praefcke CC BY 3.0

Take this page with you

The myTuur app is free, and once you are standing at a spot its story starts by itself.

Spots like this one are the stops myTuur strings into tours through Leipzig. In the app, each story begins where you stand: walk up to a spot and it starts, read it on screen or listen as you go, then follow the route to the next one.

What is myTuur?

myTuur is a free city-guide app. Its tours are built from spots, and each spot carries a story that starts when you get there, to read or to listen to as you like.