Public Prosecutor’s Office moves to Lammstraße
Published in Badische Neueste Nachrichten by Wolfgang Voigt
Karlsruhe Public Prosecutor’s Office is moving. The employees of the investigative authority will soon pack their files and computers into moving boxes and leave their traditional headquarters on Akademiestraße in Karlsruhe, in the immediate vicinity of the regional court. The move is likely to happen at the beginning of next year, but perhaps even before Christmas. Their future home is just a few hundred metres to the southeast – the new headquarters of the law enforcement agency at Lammstraße 19. The imposing building west of the ECE Centre is currently undergoing extensive renovation and conversion to meet the requirements of the Public Prosecutor’s Office. This includes new windows and secure access via a turnstile.
Electronic files come at a price
The reason for the change in location? As spokesperson Manuel Graulich explained to us, it is not possible to guarantee the electronic file procedure in the current building. All data lines would have to be replaced – a Herculean task. As German law requires the introduction of the electronic file procedure by 2026, it was time to look for an alternative property. The Ministry of Justice in Stuttgart gave a similar response to our enquiry.
Even at the new location at the southern end of Lammstraße, the office will still be just a few minutes’ walk from the local and regional courts, emphasised Aniello Ambrosio, spokesperson for Justice Minister Marion Gentges (CDU). Currently spread over two locations, after the move the activities of the prosecuting authorities will be brought together at a single site. Given the size of the building, there will be plenty of space. The Ministry of Finance has stated that a thorough refurbishment is scheduled for the prosecuting authority’s current home on Akademiestraße 6–8. Parts of the local court will be housed there at a later date, explained ministry spokesperson Sebastian Engelmann. There are currently no specific plans for the building at Akademiestraße 1.
A striking, historic building in Karlsruhe
The future home of the public prosecutor’s office on Lammstraße was built in the 1870s as the headquarters of the Baden State Railway and is under a heritage protection order. It was used by Deutsche Bahn until 2022. The building’s paternoster lift is considered a particular attraction.
Freiburg-based property developer Hans-Peter Unmüßig bought the historic property with its 7,500 m² of rental space from a private owners’ association in October of last year. UNMÜSSIG is now modernising the building according to the requirements of the public prosecutor’s office and leasing it to the state. This work includes state-of-the-art solar power and heating technology, but it does not end there. Data lines with sufficient transmission capacity – indispensable for the prosecution service – will also be installed. An attic conversion is also included in the building’s development concept, and will provide another 1,150 m² of loft-style office space.
Karlsruhe Public Prosecutor's Office is the state’s second largest prosecuting authority
Karlsruhe Public Prosecutor’s Office is the second largest prosecuting authority in Baden-Württemberg. It currently employs 163 people, three quarters of them women. Headed by Chief Public Prosecutor Jürgen Gremmelmaier, the authority has eight investigation departments led by three female and five male senior public prosecutors. It also employs ten public prosecutors as group leaders (three female and seven male) and another 38 public prosecutors, as well as six female public prosecutors for regional court matters and one male public prosecutor for local court matters. Completing the team are eleven judicial officers and 87 mid-ranking civil servants and employees.
Real estate developer UNMÜSSIG built the Motel One on Kriegsstraße, and its portfolio also includes the former Postbank office, also on Kriegsstraße, diagonally opposite the Badisches Staatstheater. The real estate company also intends to redevelop this site. The neighbouring Margravial Palace is currently being rebuilt, with PSD Bank as the developer.
