DEUTSCHES SCHAUSPIELHAUS

Description

Essentials about the Deutsches Schauspielhaus in brief

Hamburg is a city of theaters. With its 1,200 seats, the Deutsches Schauspielhaus (German Theater) is the largest straight theater in Germany and one of the country’s leading stages. In addition to the equally famous Thalia Theater, theater lovers can experience one of the best German ensembles on stage at the Deutsches Schauspielhaus.

The history of the Deutsches Schauspielhaus

At the end of the 19th century, Hamburg’s theater landscape consisted of a straight theater and the municipal theater, which were responsible for entertainment and opera. It soon became clear that the city lacked an artistic and sophisticated stage that could take over the performance of classics as well as modern plays. Due to the rapid development of Hamburg into a modern city and the increased self-confidence of the city’s upper class, more and more citizens demanded the construction of a representative theater.

The situation changed with the decision of the “Verein Hamburger Bürger zu St. Georg” (“Society of Hamburg Citizens in St. Georg”) and the well-known theater critic Heinrich E. Wallsee, to plan a straight theater modelled on the Burgtheater in Vienna. The location of the new theatre had already been determined – it was to be built in the former suburb of St. Georg near the planned central railway station. The Deutsches Schauspielhaus was ultimately the result of a coalition of private financiers, business people and leading Hamburg stage artists. Until the time of National Socialism, the Schauspielhaus remained a private theater.

The “Aktiengesellschaft Deutsches Schauspielhaus” (“Stock Corporation Deutsches Schauspielhaus”) was founded in 1899. For the construction of the new theater, the theatre city of Vienna was used as a model, which is why Viennese architects Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer were picked. The result was a neo-baroque theater with around 1,800 seats, whose design was inspired by the Volkstheater in Vienna, also built by the same two architects. On September 15, 1900, the Deutsches Schauspielhaus was ceremoniously opened with the performance of Goethe’s Iphigenie auf Tauris.