In 1850, the Landgericht Bonn was founded by order of the Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm IV. At the beginning, it consisted of eight judges including the president.
The court building, which also accommodates the Amtsgericht Bonn, is located on Wilhelmstraße in the city centre and is in fact a building complex. Its oldest part dates from 1859. In 1904, another part was added. The prison, which was built in the back of the premises in 1862, was demolished in 1995 to make room for three new modern buildings with courtrooms and offices for judges, civil servants and employees. This part was finished between 2001 and 2003.
The abolition of the rule of law and the exertion of influence on the judiciary under the national socialist regime had a great effect on the Landgericht Bonn. For example, some judges and civil servants were forced to leave the Landgericht Bonn. At the beginning of 1945, the court building was destroyed to a great extent by a severe air raid; more than 200 people died. In the summer of 1945, the Landgericht Bonn was reopened under the supervision of the British occupying force. After the Federal Republic of Germany had been founded in May 1949 and Bonn had become its capital, a lot of proceedings in which the federal government and the Bundestag were involved took place and attracted a great deal of attention by the public.
At present, the Landgericht Bonn consists of about 80 judges working in 14 civil divisions (Zivilkammern) including one division in which the court hearings are held in English on request of the parties, 14 commercial divisions (Kammern für Handelssachen), 8 criminal divisions (Strafkammern) and one division for sentence execution (Strafvollstreckungskammer).