City Theater (Gliwice)

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The ruin of the city theater
inside view
View from the west

The Gleiwitz City Theater was initially a private and later a municipal stage in Gleiwitz in Upper Silesia . It was opened in 1899 as part of the "Victoria" establishment, later it became one of the largest theaters in Upper Silesia as the city theater. As a ruin since 1945, the building remained unused for decades. Occasional events have been taking place in the ruins since the 1990s, and efforts are being made to rebuild it. The ruin is located at Aleja Przyjaźni 18 in downtown Gliwice.

history

The Victoria Theater opened in 1899 as part of the Victoria Establishment, a large private cultural and entertainment center with a hotel, restaurants and shops. The construction was carried out by the company Zimmermann und Wacha. The property belonged to Julius Leppich, who was also a partner in Victoria. Because the theater was part of a building complex, it has not received any representative architecture and is located in a back courtyard, facing away from the main street Ulica Zwycięstwa (formerly Wilhelmstrasse ). In 1914 the city of Gliwice took over the theater and contributed financially to the stage. The stage curtain was sewn by women from the beautiful forest who were known for their “beautiful forest embroidery”.

In 1924 the theater was redesigned. In 1924 the theaters in Gleiwitz, Hindenburg OS and Beuthen merged to form the “Oberschlesisches Theater” (between 1924 and 1927 “Theaters of Three Cities”). In addition, the “Upper Silesian Drama Theater” was held in the building.

When the Red Army marched in on January 24, 1945, the interior of the theater was set on fire and the theater that had burned down was never rebuilt. In the meantime it was used as a warehouse. On the initiative of Ewa Strzelczyk (1961–1998), the director of the municipal cultural center, the “Foundation for the Reconstruction of the City Theater” was established in 1994. In 1996 the theater was reopened for events, the ruinous state was retained. Since then it has been used for concerts, dance, theater, musicals and film screenings. A well-known series of events is, for example, the “Jazz w Ruinach”.

Personalities

literature

  • Dorota Łukaszewicz: Historia budynku teatru miejskiego w Gliwicach. 2003

Web links

Commons : Gliwice City Theater ruins  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Silesian Tourist Information
  2. ↑ Limitless: Between Times
  3. ↑ German Theater Lexicon
  4. ↑ Johannes Schüler
  5. ↑ Gunna Wendt: Erika and Therese: Erika Mann and Therese Giehse - A love between art and war , 2018

Coordinates: 50 ° 17 ′ 48.2 ″  N , 18 ° 40 ′ 20 ″  E