If you’d ask someone what Karlsruhe was known for, the person would probably think you were joking–Karlsruhe doesn’t have the kind of tourist-money-attracting sights as its neighbors. The city is an hour or so from Stuttgart and decidedly separated from other major cities in Southern Germany. And this fact was a perfect reason to place one gem in Karlsruhe, the constitutional court, or Verfassungsgericht.
There’s nothing in Karlsruhe…but good old fashioned law and order.
One can always tell how important a building is in Germany by how many police are stationed in front of it. Most buildings have zero policemen. All Jewish buildings have at least one, and sometimes a pair of uniformed officers “just in case” something might happen. The Verfassungsgericht has its own squad of security officers patrolling the building and grounds.
And rightfully so…this court is the highest in the land regarding constitutional issues. It would be unfair to compare it directly to the Supreme Court of the United States because the functions are similar but different. In the US the SCOTUS acts as a watchdog for legislation working through Congress, and as the land’s highest appellate court, keeping laws and the enforcement of laws in check.
In Germany, the Verfassungsgericht acts only as a watchdog for legislation, and it keeps an eye on possible contradictions of German law on a European level…(like deciding whether the Lisbon Treaty was constitutional.)
Andreas Voßkuhle, Vize Präsident des Verfassungsgerichts, breaks it down.
The court itself is impressive with its many windows emphasizing its want to promote transparency. Its organizational style and function aren’t as easy to explain–the bureaucracy is too thick, and my German is too weak to explain it effectively.
The Court’s Vice President, Andreas Voßkuhle, spoke to my group about the court, and his role within it. But it wasn’t until someone asked what the most important case his court decided on did the conversation get interesting.
“Kopftuch,” shouted a journalist from behind our group.
“Naja, Kopftuch.” Voßkuhle confirmed. Kopftuch. “Headkerchief.” Head-covering for Muslim women. The court was charged to rule on the case of a Muslim teacher who wanted to wear her head-covering while teaching class.
“Well it’s a matter of separating the government from church,” Voßkuhle said in fast-paced German. “Schools must be separated from churches.”
That’s a valid point. But in Southern Germany, especially Bavaria, one can likely find a crucifix in every classroom, and no one complains–it’s just part of the culture. The court ruled against the head-covering. Bavarian schools are unchanged.
Religion in Germany, primarily the South, probably deserves a post of its own.
There’s more to Bosch than appliances.
Along with the business has also come limited relaxation. My program’s steward is the Bosch Stiftung, the non-profit arm of the Bosch corporation…appliances, car accessories, etc. Robert Bosch was an interesting man, creating a machine shop for electric goods in the early 20th century.
At his villa in Stuttgart, now the home of the Stiftung, one can see miles in every direction. Bosch was not an innovator himself, but he hired and financed smart people. His company invented the spark plug for example…he made a little money off that one.
Also notable is Robert Bosch instituted the first 8 hour work day. He didn’t want his workers to get burned out, and wanted to keep them efficient. I can’t say modern-day companies always have that philosophy in mind.
Interesting enough Bosch’s ambitions and philanthropic urges were not a result of his religious beliefs. He was not a religious person, though he wanted to do the right thing and help people if he could. For that reason he and his company laid very low in the years 1933 to 1945. Bosch himself died in 1942.
Germany continues to offer interesting sights, and food for thought.
Stay tuned–Munich, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg and a few days in Berlin are still to come.