Waldbühne Heessen

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Westfälische Freilichtbühne eV Waldbühne Heessen
purpose Open air theater
Chair: Ingeborg Hesse
Establishment date: 1924
Seat : Hamm / Westf.
Website: www.waldbuehne-heessen.de
Front view of the auditorium of the Waldbühne Heessen

The Waldbühne Heessen (full name Westfälische Freilichtspiele eV Waldbühne Heessen ) in the Westphalian town of Hamm is one of the most popular amateur open-air theaters in Germany, the stage construction of which is located in the Hamm-Heessen district. The first chairwoman of the Westfälische Freilichtspiele eV is Ingeborg Hesse. The current Lord Mayor of Hamm Thomas Hunsteger-Petermann is 2nd chairman. The Waldbühne Heessen is one of the founding members of the Association of German Open Air Theaters .

Foundation and early days

It was founded on July 7, 1924 at the instigation of the brothers Anton and August Funke together with Eberhard Rörig in the courtyard of Schloss Oberwerries in Heessen . A group of around 100 people initially named themselves after the venue, Naturtheater Oberwerries .

After the venue soon became too small for the performances, a plot of land was acquired. A wooden stand was initially built on this . The auditorium now offered space for 2,000 people and was inaugurated in 1928 with the play "Josef and his brothers". At the same time, the name was also adapted to the new venue, the Heessener Wald, and was now Westphalian Homeland Games - Waldbühne Heessen . As early as 1930, the grandstand had to be expanded again with side structures; after the expansion it could hold 3,000 spectators. At the beginning of the 1930s, the number of spectators had risen to up to 85,000 visitors a year.

time of the nationalsocialism

During the National Socialist era , amateur theaters were also obliged to hire unemployed actors . So it happened that Georg Thomalla was part of the then Heessener Spielschar, he played in 1937 in the "Hermannsschlacht". The NSDAP also controlled the management of the theater and influenced the selection of plays; patriotic themes were preferred. On August 26, 1939, the game was discontinued due to the war, in that year 100,000 spectators were expected for the first time.

post war period

In 1946 it had been decided to play theater again , but the Waldbühne facilities had become unplayable due to the bombing . The band therefore initially began to perform pieces in halls in the area. In 1949 an open-air theater season was played again for the first time in the Heessen castle courtyard with the play "Jedermann" . The following season in 1950 fell out in favor of the reconstruction of the Waldbühne. In 1951 the "Maid of Orleans" was played again in front of a provisionally erected grandstand in the Heessen forest. The number of viewers rose again to 56,000 by the mid-1950s, but then collapsed and only stabilized at a low level between 20,000 and 26,000 viewers per year at the end of the 1960s.

Recent time

Aerial view of the Waldbühne Heessen

In 1974 the stage was supplemented with sound and lighting systems, and in 1978 wireless microphones were used for the first time . Since the 1970s, the number of visitors has risen again and reached the 60,000 mark by the end of the 1980s. In 1983, a winter program was launched with the studio stage. At the beginning of the 1990s, planning finally began for a new grandstand construction with space for around 1700 guests, which also houses a studio stage, offices, changing rooms, the prop pool and other functional rooms and was intended to replace the temporary arrangement from 1951. The foundation stone for this new building was laid on November 22, 1992. The grandstand construction was completed in 1993, but the interior was not completed until 1996. The theater inside was only finished for the 75th anniversary.

Web links

Coordinates: 51 ° 42 ′ 43.5 "  N , 7 ° 50 ′ 58.4"  E