Open-air stage at the citadel
The open-air stage at the citadel in Berlin-Haselhorst is located in a landscape protection area at the Spandau Citadel , a well-preserved Renaissance building that is important in terms of military history. It was built in 1921 by Otto de Nolte, the founder of the Spandauer Volksbühne, with private funds as a natural theater under the name "Freilichtbühne am Juliusturm". The first performance with Grillparzer's Sappho took place here on June 26, 1921. The Spandauer Zeitung reported on the following day:
"With the simplest means, director Otto de Nolte understood how to create an almost ideal natural theater in the charming forest solitude of the idyllic citadel glacis, which allowed the audience to enjoy all the beauties of Grillparzer's work twice."
From then on, the game was maintained in every season and taken over in 1926 by the Spandau district office. The Lord Mayor of Berlin Böß equipped the stage with municipal funds to make it a permanent fixture. de Nolte was also involved in the planning of the partial roofing.
The theater continued until the summer of 1942, while from 1943 the intensified bombing of the city made it impossible to stage theater in the open air. Even after his 30-year commitment to the Spandau theater landscape in 1947, Otto de Nolte remained loyal to the open-air theater and lived on the site until his death in 1968.
It was not until 1986 that the open-air stage was reactivated by the Spandau Old Town Theater and, under the direction of Achim Grubel and Gabriel Reinking, later Matthias Diem, such demanding works as Schiller's Wilhelm Tell, Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet as well as the Midsummer Night's Room and Mozart's Magic Flute were played. The Spandau District Office, represented by the Kulturhaus Spandau, is currently organizing concerts, theater and shows on the open-air stage in cooperation with the Magma Theater Spandau. Until 2013, the program was designed by Ulrich Funk, then deputy head of the art department and head of the cultural center, and since then it has been successfully continued by his successor Britta Richter.
The open-air stage offers space for around 600 spectators, 200 seats are covered. Benches with backrests serve as seats.
Cultural offer
From May to September the Kulturhaus Spandau organizes its summer program in the idyllic forest atmosphere of the open-air stage at the citadel. In the evening events a wide range of concerts, theater, musicals and shows is presented. On Sunday mornings, local orchestras, ensembles and choirs also invite you to take part in the "Free & Outside" series. For families, school and daycare groups, there are children's concerts and children's theater in cooperation with the Berliner KinderTheater eV, the KinderMusikTheater eV and the Hops und Hopsi children's program.
Web links
- Homepage with illustration
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jenny Kähler: The open-air theater is 75 years old today . In: Berliner Zeitung . June 26, 1996.
Coordinates: 52 ° 32 ′ 24 ″ N , 13 ° 13 ′ 0 ″ E