The Alumni Club Karlsruhe’s visit to the Federal Constitutional Court (BVerfG) in Karlsruhe met with unexpected interest. So many alumni signed up for the tour that it was necessary to schedule a second visit.

Never in the history of the Karlsruhe chapter of the Freiburg Alumni Club has the demand for an event been so great that a second date had to be scheduled. The invitation attracted many younger alumni. Due to the cramped conditions in the current temporary quarters of the Federal Constitutional Court in a former military barracks on the edge of town, the number of participants was limited to 50. The court building in downtown Karlsruhe is currently under renovation and will not be reopened until 2014.

Before entering the building, the visitors were – like at an airport – subjected to a thorough security check at the gate. The guided tour by alumnus Thomas Hammer, who works as a research assistant for the Federal Constitutional Court, was very informative. Particularly fascinating was a look into the closet where the judges’ precious red robes hang. Each judge has his or her own robe including a hat, as the alumni learned during the tour of the complex. After the tour, the alumni engaged in a lively discussion of the origins, the history, and the standing of the German supreme court. Many of the questions revolved around the independence of the court and its influence on politics.