Volkstheater - Vienna, Austria
Posted by: 
BakaGaijin
N 48° 12.310 E 016° 21.444
33U E 600852 N 5339995
The old and well-established Volkstheater in 7th district is still one of the biggest theatres in the German language area. It offers modern plays as well as the classic performances.
Waymark Code: WM7N3V
Location: Wien, Austria
Date Posted: 11/11/2009
Views: 50
The Volkstheater was built 1888-1889 as Deutsches Volkstheater by Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer in order to offer a popular counter weight to the Hofburgtheater by big auditorium and reasonable charges. At the time the auditorium with 1900 seats was the biggest in in the German language area. The theatre was opened with Ludwig Anzengruber's drama Der Fleck auf der Ehr in September 1889.
The Volkstheater was during the WWII part of the Kraft durch Freude programme and its name was changed to Kraft-durch-Freude-Theater. In 1944 were dome and foyers heavily damaged by bombs. Still in May 1945 the theatre was - as Volkstheater - reopened and restored (except of the dome and the front tympanon). In the years 1980-1981 there was a general exterior and interior renovation by Rudolf Jarosch to the original plans, including a re-construction of the original dome.
In 2005, under the new art director Michael Schottenberg, the Volkstheater started also an alternative theater stage "Volkstheater Hundsturm" in the 5th district of Vienna.
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