Verfassungs(ge)schichten

How does constitutional history link in with the general political and cultural history of a country? Why is »constitutional history« necessary when considering topical questions of state and constitution? The speakers who addressed the »The Fundaments of Public Law« discussion group at the German Constitutional Law Professors Association's 2016 conference in Linz dealt with the current status, methodological problems, and future prospects of the branch of constitutional history. Their answers to these questions are, as always in the recording of history, shaped by the political and cultural context of the time. Not unintentionally do they interpret the history of constitutions. After all, in order to construct constitutional law theories, an historical basis is required. This means that constitutional history and theory are interdependent, with each in its own way accompanying the path to the present. As the guiding light of the nineteenth century's national state fades, so constitutional history too adapts, spreading into European territory and reflecting current global developments.