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The Basic Law is the most successful constitution in German history. No previous constitution was longer in force. None reached as high a degree of relevance for the political process and the social order. Although frequently amended its core principles have remained the same. Much of the identity of the Federal Republic before unification was based on the Constitution. It seems significant that, in the absence of a united nation, patriotism was linked to the Constitution. «Constitutional Patriotism» became a well known word. The success is not only a consequence of the legal quality of the constitutional text, but - in contrast to the Weimar Constitution - also of post-war Germany’s lucky development and of the jurisprudence of the Federal Constitutional Court that contributed to the high relevance of the Constitution and its adaptability to new challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]