Lessing Theater (Wolfenbüttel)

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Lessingtheater (front view before the renovation of the theater in the years 2010 to 2013)
Lessing Theater 2016

The Lessingtheater in Wolfenbüttel is a theater opened in 1909 and is operated by the city of Wolfenbüttel as a guest theater.

history

In the royal seat of Wolfenbüttel, Germany's first standing theater with a permanent ensemble was founded in 1592 with the theater of Wolfenbüttel Castle .

Planned by the Braunschweig architect Otto Rasche , the theater was built using reinforced concrete . The inauguration of the house, built in the style of Art Nouveau and Neoclassicism , took place after four years of planning and after only one year of construction on September 25, 1909 with the performance of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing's Nathan the Wise . The Lessing Theater and the city of Wolfenbüttel survived the two world wars undamaged.

The theater did not get its current name until 1929, until then it was called the City Theater . Operated as a play theater , the Lessing Theater does not have its own ensemble and regularly performs guest performances with a changing program. Until it closed in 2007, it was the venue for around 90 events annually and could accommodate up to 699 guests.

Closure and renovation

In January 2007 the theater was closed because it no longer complied with statutory fire protection requirements. Water that was constantly entering the catacombs also had to be collected and disposed of. Preliminary planning and tendered architectural competitions provided for various conversions and extensions in the historic building in order to enable modern theater operations.

The Kulturbund Wolfenbüttel and the Bürgerbauverein Lessing-Theater Wolfenbüttel eV were able to partially finance the renovation costs . V. together contribute around 250,000 euros. Since 1997, the so-called theater building blocks have earned 1 DM or 50  cents when purchasing an entrance ticket  ; the sale of a few theater chairs also brought in some money.

The theater was renovated between April 2010 and May 2013.

According to initial plans, the reopening should take place in autumn 2011 after 15 months of construction. The renovation costs were estimated at 12.8 million euros. These were raised by the city of Wolfenbüttel, the district of Wolfenbüttel , the state of Lower Saxony , the Federal Republic of Germany as well as the Mast-Jägermeister Foundation , the Wolfenbüttel Citizens' Building Association and through private donations.

At the end of 2010, it became known that renovation costs had increased to 14.7 million euros. According to information from 2011, the renovation should cost 18.8 million euros and be completed a year later at the end of 2012. The additional costs, which became known after a change of the executing architect, could be absorbed by municipal surpluses in the budget.

As part of the renovation, the number of seats in the parquet and in the gallery was reduced, with only the seats with a poor view of the stage being left out. With additions made of steel and glass and the relocation of functional areas, the rooms above ground such as B. Foyer and gallery more open and spacious. The basement, which has been lowered and expanded by three meters, creates sufficient space for stage sets , technology and storage. There is also space for management, toilets and the cloakrooms in the basement. For the expansion, the groundwater level was lowered to 7 m and a concrete tub was built under the existing theater building. For this purpose, sheet pile walls , steel supports under the building, a new concrete slab and cement injections into the masonry and the surrounding area created the conditions for the building statics .

The renovation work included both the civil engineering with the excavation of the earth, as well as the partial gutting and the shell construction inside. From the listed theater, the exterior of the building shell remained, which was supplemented by glass extensions. In the 20 m high theater or stage tower, a high-pressure spray mist system was installed for the first time in Germany to reduce damage from fire and extinguishing water.

In theater operations, the flexible stage should enable performances with both studio and peep-box stages . The venue is designed for around 170 events a year.

The theater reopened at the end of May 2013.

Web links

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  1. ↑ Kai-Uwe Ruf: The Lessing Theater is becoming more spacious. In: newsclick.de/Braunschweiger Zeitung. October 26, 2009.
  2. ^ Karl-Ernst Hueske: 15 months to build the Lessing Theater. In: newsclick.de/Braunschweiger Zeitung. October 28, 2009.
  3. ^ Karl-Ernst Hueske: The Lessing Theater is being renovated. In: newsclick.de/Braunschweiger Zeitung. April 30, 2010.
  4. ^ Karl-Ernst Hueske: Guided tours of the new Wolfenbüttel construction site at the Lessing Theater. In: newsclick.de/Braunschweiger Zeitung. October 29, 2010.
  5. ^ Stephan Hespos: Lessing's gutted theater. In: newsclick.de/Braunschweiger Zeitung. November 6, 2010.
  6. ^ Stephan Hespos: Renovation of the Lessing Theater in full swing. In: newsclick.de/Braunschweiger Zeitung. November 12, 2010.
  7. ^ Karl-Ernst Hueske: Lessing theater renovation more expensive than assumed. In: newsclick.de/Braunschweiger Zeitung. November 29, 2010.
  8. ↑ The lecture made people want to see the converted Lessing Theater. In: newsclick.de/Braunschweiger Zeitung. November 30, 2010.
  9. ^ Stephan Hespos: New architect takes over the Lessing Theater construction site. In: newsclick.de/Braunschweiger Zeitung. February 22, 2011.
  10. ↑ Stephanie Peißker: The renovation of the Lessing Theater costs five million euros more. In: newsclick.de/Braunschweiger Zeitung. April 5, 2011.
  11. ^ Karl-Ernst Hueske: Demolition in the Lessing Theater is proceeding rapidly. In: newsclick.de/Braunschweiger Zeitung. May 6, 2011.
  12. ↑ Karl-Ernst Hueske: Lessing Theater is to become a lighthouse for the region after renovation. In: newsclick.de/Braunschweiger Zeitung. May 13, 2011.
  13. ^ Kai-Uwe Ruf: Civil engineering work in the Lessing Theater almost finished. In: newsclick.de/Braunschweiger Zeitung. July 29, 2011.
  14. ↑ Kai-Uwe Ruf: The latest fire protection technology in the Lessing Theater. In: Wolfenbütteler Zeitung. July 25, 2012.
  15. ↑ Dream worlds for the opening of the theater. In: Wolfenbütteler Zeitung. May 24, 2013.

Coordinates: 52 ° 9 '34 "  N , 10 ° 32' 25.7"  E