Romantic stage at the castle tower
| Romantic stage at the castle tower | |
|---|---|
 View of the auditorium, stage and castle |
|
| Data | |
| place | Bad Berneck in the Fichtel Mountains |
| builder | Sophian Baumgartner |
| Construction year | 1905 |
| Coordinates | 50 ° 3 '4.6 " N , 11 ° 40' 30.5" E |
| particularities | |
| Location in the FFH area approx. 200 seats |
|
The romantic stage at the castle tower in Bad Berneck is located at the foot of the old castle with its castle tower. Several passages (wicket gate, Gothic gate) and a large castle gate connect the stage area with the castle hill behind it. Various rock paths that lead up to the castle kennel, which is about 25 meters above the stage, allow the castle ruins to be included in the game. The historicizing design of the facility, which was built at the beginning of the 20th century, meant that the stage system was at times incorrectly viewed as part of the castle's construction period in the specialist literature.
The substructure of the stage - like the entire system, built from diabase sandstone blocks , like the entire system - is located in the castle's former neck moat . It separates the stage from the around 200-seat grandstand and was used at times as an orchestra pit.
history
In 1905, Franz Dittmar from Nuremberg, an author of folk and historical plays, gave a lecture on the history of the city and its castles in Berneck and suggested that this be performed on an open-air stage as a home play . The city responded to this proposal and built the stage required for this on the Schlossberg, initially without a substructure and with a wooden backdrop . As early as 1906, the first performance of the one written by Dittmar and given by the seminar teacher Dr. Schmidt from Bayreuth set to music Die Wallenrode von Berneck with a large audience. This makes the Romantikbühne one of the oldest open-air theaters in Germany.
Until the war-related interruption in 1914, the piece was performed regularly, and in 1925/26 the performance was resumed by a festival association. He built the backdrop in today's masonry form and created the substructure of the stage, which enlarged the stage space. In 1937 and 1938 the stage was played by the ensemble of the Luisenburg Festival in Wunsiedel . After that, the stage was also used irregularly due to the war . In the 1990s, the neglected stage was restored and used by the Free Theater Bayreuth under the direction of Adolf Brunner with the help of the city. From 2009 the stage was played by the Franconian Theater Summer under the direction of Jan Burdinski. Most recently, the play Above All Magic Love by Pedro Calderón de la Barca was performed in 2010 .
In 2011 the stage was closed and modernized due to its dilapidation. After this interruption, the stage has been used by Gittel's Fränkischer Bühne since 2018. In addition to the theater, music events are now also taking place here. The stage can also be used by other theater or music groups. The stage is managed by the Bad Berneck Tourist Information Office.
Stage plays with a direct or indirect reference to the stage
The play Wallenrode by Berneck was written especially for this natural stage and often performed there. The last performance took place in 2008.
Also Engelbert Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel was staged by the Free Theater Bayreuth on this stage. Humperdinck's granddaughter, who was present at this performance, confirmed the local legend that the composer got lost in the local forests during a visit to Bad Berneck and thus received the inspiration for this piece.
Ludwig Tieck received the suggestion for the play Karl von Berneck , which takes place directly in the castle, while visiting the city. This play, although it can be staged at the original location, has unfortunately not yet been performed there.
Individual evidence
- ^ Friedrich-Wilhelm Krahe: Castles of the German Middle Ages: Grundriß-Lexikon. Verlag Flechsig, Würzburg 2000, ISBN 3-88189-360-1 .
literature
- History of the city of Bad Berneck iF R. Teichmann, Bad Berneck 1957.
- Otto Schoerrig: Bad Berneck and its surroundings. R. Teichmann, Bad Berneck 1983.
- Ludwig Tieck: Karl von Berneck. In: Ludwig Tieck's entire works. Volume 2, Paris 1841. (online)