UT Connewitz

Logo UT Connewitz

Interior with screen and stage before a concert

Street view

The UT Connewitz is the oldest surviving movie theater in Leipzig and one of the oldest in Germany. It is located at Wolfgang-Heinze-Straße 12 in Connewitz . The first film screening took place on Christmas Day 1912 : The crime film The Black Cat, Part 2 , a short silent film directed by Viggo Larsen, was shown .

The name UT stands for Union Theater : The “Allgemeine Kinematographen Gesellschaft Union-Theater für Lebende und Tonbilder mbH” was founded in 1906, resulting in the most successful cinema chain in Germany at the time, “Union”, which operated under the UT trademark.

history

Originally the cinema was called "Cammerlichtspiele", from 1920 it operated under the name "Union-Theater Connewitz". From the 1970s it was part of the film theater business of the City of Leipzig as the "Connewitz Film Theater". Through various renovations, the number of seats has been reduced from 625 to 415 (in 1985). Since then it has been used for a variety of purposes, including a. for youth consecration celebrations and concerts as well as a meeting point for the GDR punk scene . In 1992 the UT Connewitz was closed.

In 2001 the UT Connewitz eV association was founded with the aim of making the historic cinema building accessible again as a cultural site and of preserving the fabric of the building. Since then there has been a regular cultural event with concerts, cinema screenings, etc. a. instead, which is aimed at an alternative scene audience. On November 12, 2012, the association received the Silver Hemisphere of the German Prize for Monument Protection from the German National Committee for Monument Protection for its "active, cross-generational, voluntary commitment to the preservation and revitalization of one of the oldest faithfully preserved film theaters in Germany, the listed UT Connewitz."

description

From a structural point of view, the design of the stage area as a relief modeled on a portico with pilasters is remarkable . Except for the seating, the interior of the cinema is largely in its original condition from 1912 , albeit heavily damaged . The UT has 99 seats. Due to the space and available capacity, the holding of meetings or congresses is also planned.