Die Geschichte des Grauen Hauses und der Strafgerichtsbarkeit in Wien

Abstract

The ‘Graues Haus‘ (literally, the ‘grey house‘) was erected in the Alservorstadt right outside the city boundaries of Vienna between 1831 and 1839. Its original function was to house the Magistrates’ court for criminal matters, replacing the previous court house (known locally as the ‘Schranne’) that had been situated at Hoher Markt. With effect of 1st July 1850 the municipal and manorial courts were abolished and the organisation of courts with which we are familiar today was introduced. At the same time the inquisitorial system was replaced with the adversarial one and public and oral court proceedings became the norm. The ‘Graues Haus’ now accommodated the criminal division of the Vienna Regional Court and the Vienna Prosecutor’s Office. In 1873 construction work began for the ‘Groser Schwurgerichtssaal’, a new court room specifically for jury trials. The court’s jail house was demolished between 1980 and 1996 and replaced with a new facility for the Josefstadt jail; the court itself was provided with modern court rooms. The focus on the achievements of the ‘Rechtsstaat’, a state based on the rule of law, and of modern criminal law is meant to underline the great value of a system of courts which is devoid of any political influence.