Oldenburg Wall Cinema

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The Oldenburger Wallkino (short: Wall ) was the oldest still operating cinema in northern Germany until 2007 .

Facade of the Oldenburger Wallkino

The theater was opened in September 1914 with a hall for 750 spectators. The architecture of the building was reminiscent of a theater with the richly decorated confectioner's facade - as did the cinema, which had a floor- level parquet floor , rising tiers and high boxes. The house survived both world wars almost unscathed. During the second , operations were shut down, but resumed in 1948. About ten years later the technology was modernized and the anamorphic process was introduced . The cinema experienced its heyday in the 1960s, but towards the end of the decade it was sold by the Mertens-Rösser family to the cinema entrepreneur Theo Marseille from Bremerhaven .

He had the cinema completely rebuilt. The hall was divided into two smaller rooms by inserting a false ceiling. This is how the wall with 400 seats and the cinema that offered 350 people were created. In addition, the outer facade was clad with aluminum. It reopened in July 1970. The cinema operator Detlef Roßmann leased the Wallkino in the early 1990s. Together with the widow of Marseilles, he worked out redesign plans, which were then implemented. The facade was restored, the technology renewed and more comfortable seating installed. The seemingly nostalgic building once again attracted more viewers and from 1994 onwards it hosted the opening ceremony of the Oldenburg International Film Festival .

In 2006, Ulrich Marseille inherited the building from his adoptive mother and gave notice to the operators that he did not intend to continue the cinema. It was closed in 2007 and has been empty since then. From 2008 there were negotiations to use the building as a rehearsal stage for the State Theater, but since the parties could not agree on the terms of a lease, the talks failed in December 2010.

In 2011, Marseille applied for the building to be demolished, only the facade facing the street should remain according to his plans. The city of Oldenburg rejected this request. Coordinates: 53 ° 8 ′ 33.9 ″  N , 8 ° 12 ′ 44.5 ″  E

literature

  • Judith Protze: Oldenburger Lichtspiele. Film and cinema history (s) of the city of Oldenburg , Oldenburg (BIS-Verlag) 2004. ISBN 3814208919

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