The Friedrichstadt-Palast, also shortened to Palast Berlin, is a revue in the
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
district of
Mitte (district center). The term Friedrichstadt-Palast designates both the building itself, and the revue theater as a body with his ensemble. The present building is distinct from its predecessor, the Old Friedrichstadt-Palast (former
Grosses Schauspielhaus located near Schiffbauerdamm), and therefore now also called the New Friedrichstadt-Palast.
History
Beginnings
The history of the Friedrichstadt-Palast goes back to an earlier market hall, which is about 200 meters southwest of present-day location between the Bertolt-Brecht-Platz and the road was at the circus, official address was in 1867 at the 1st Circus.
![Fotothek df pk 0000282 002 Greta Kuckhoff, Haber (München), Dr](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Fotothek_df_pk_0000282_002_Greta_Kuckhoff%2C_Haber_%28M%C3%BCnchen%29%2C_Dr._Barbara_v._Renthe_%28Berlin%29.jpg)
The building was built from 1865 to 1867 on behalf of the Berlin real estate stock company under the plans of the Privy building advice of Friedrich Hitzig. This was under the direction of the architect who built Lent and on 29 September 1867, Berlin's first market hall was opened. The building was 84 meters long and 64 meters wide. Just seven months after its opening, 18 April 1868, for economic reasons, which arose from the bad traffic situation at that time, it closed. The building was empty at first and was later used as a food depot. During the German-Prussian War of 1870–71 the
Prussian Army command sent in the construction of a replenishment arsenal. After the war the hall was again unused.
First building
In 1873, the building was converted into a 5,000 seat circus arena. On December 25, 1873 it was opened as a covered market by Circus Director Albert Salomonsky. The ideas offered above all included training horses, for Salmonsky was supportive of riders. On April 20, 1879, the building was acquired by
Ernst Renz and let
Circus Renz
Circus Renz was a German circus company. It was established in 1842 in Berlin by Ernst Jakob Renz (1815–1892) as ''Circus Olympic'' and existed until 1897. The company had several stationary buildings in Berlin, Hamburg, Bremen, Breslau and V ...
continue its operation. Renz had the building rebuilt in 1888. Over the subsequent admission capacity, figures from various sources differ, yet it possibly hold up to 8000 seats. Renz made use of its closeness to water to its advantage by the fact that the building sat on 863 piles over the course of a swamp by the suburb of
Oranienburg
Oranienburg () is a town in Brandenburg, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Oberhavel.
Geography
Oranienburg is a town located on the banks of the Havel river, 35 km north of the centre of Berlin.
Division of the town
Oranienburg ...
. The nearby river, already used in the days of the market hall to keep fish, flowers and vegetables fresh, was now openly led through the building. According to Renz's obituary in 1892, the enterprise was continued by his son Franz Renz, but it closed in July 1897 under the great pressure of competition.
The building was auctioned and came into the possession of
Bolossy Kiralfy
Bolossy Kiralfy (1848–1932), one of The Kiralfy Brothers, was a performer, producer, writer and creator of musical extravaganzas in the late 19th, early 20th centuries. He was a "great international showman" and ushered in the "era of the Spect ...
and
Hermann Haller. They directed the rebuilding again of the nightclub New Olympic giant theater or giant Olympia Theatre. The proscenium arch was widened to 44 meters and four of the eight major pillars in the auditorium were removed. However, after two years, the duo Kiralfy/Haller gave up again, their ostentatious shows with too little content finding little favour with audiences.
In October 1899, the circus reopened. Schumann decided on classic circus programs featuring numerous dressage horses. Another renovation in 1901 led to the enlargement of the stage area to 800 square meters and a modernization of the installed technology. From 1910, Berlin audiences preferred programs with trained predator animals, and interest in Schumann's performances waned. The
first World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
finally brought him to ruin. At the beginning of the war, his horses were requisitioned for the Imperial Cavalry, and earnings went to paying taxes. On March 31, 1918 the Circus Schumann held its last performance.
New ownership
Ringmasters Salomonsky, Renz, Schumann and the artistes Kiralfy/Haller followed
Max Reinhardt
Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born theatre and film director, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his innovative stage productions, he is regarded as one of the most pro ...
, and wanted to use his monumental circus for the staging of classic plays. April 1918 had the takeover of the National-Theater AG's house on behalf of Reinhardt. Reinhardt decided to rebuild the building for the new use for it was rebuilt again by the renowned architect Hans Poelzig. After this, the cast-iron columns and struts through a stucco ceiling with dangling teardrop pin architecture, the market hall had been transformed., The building had a revolving stage of 18 meters in diameter and had movable proscenium. Added to this was modern lighting and effects technology.
In November 1919, the now large theater building called The Oresteia by
Aeschylus
Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek ...
in the processing and translation of Karl Gustav Vollmoeller directed by Max Reinhardt solemnly opened.
1924 had the staged Erik Charell with his ''Charellrevue'' with lyrics by Robert Gilbert, and the music show ''The White Horse Inn''. July 1925 brought
Erwin Piscator
Erwin Friedrich Maximilian Piscator (17 December 1893 – 30 March 1966) was a German theatre director and producer. Along with Bertolt Brecht, he was the foremost exponent of epic theatre, a form that emphasizes the socio-political content o ...
's Political Review ''Still'', on stage.
World War and new beginnings
During the Nazi era, the theater was renamed Theater des Volkes. The dome hanging pins were cut off as they were seen as
degenerate art
Degenerate art (german: Entartete Kunst was a term adopted in the 1920s by the Nazi Party in Germany to describe modern art. During the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler, German modernist art, including many works of internationally renowned artists, ...
. Now late-bourgeois operettas were performed. The theatre was at this time also under the name Palace of 5000 and under the private management Spadonis Marion and Nicola Lupo.
The building suffered most in March 1945 due to repeated air attacks. Damage caused the plays to be removed from March until August 1945. Now, led the artists Spadoni and Lupo the house as a palace of the 3000/Theater of 3000 or Palace at the Friedrichstrasse station and Palace Variety.
In 1949 the owners abandoned the theater and the city of Berlin took over the facility, the original name Friedrichstadtpalast got back. The first director was following the expropriation of Gottfried Hermann, he was succeeded in 1961, Wolfgang E. Struck.
Closure
On February 29, 1980, the building was immediately closed after the inspection by construction experts. The reason was a strong subsidence of the foundation as well as the moulding of the supporting piles. In an ADN -message the same day it said: "No performances will be offered in March. The City Council of Berlin has, in the interest of public safety,been forced to close down the facilities. The constant monitoring of the palace by the state supervision as well as several special investigations have revealed a deterioration of the foundation construction." Thus passed that evening the last performance. Although closed as a venue, the main house of the ensemble was subsequently used as a rehearsal stage. Even the magazine, the workshops and administrative buildings continued to be utilised. After the ensemble moved to the new building in 1985, demolition of the almost 120-year-old building began almost immediately.
In the old and new Friedrichstadt-Palast, television shows were regularly filmed of the
Deutscher Fernsehfunk
Deutscher Fernsehfunk (DFF; German for "German Television Broadcasting") was the state television broadcaster in the German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) from 1952 to 1991.
DFF produced free-to-air terrestrial television programmin ...
television production, featuring a number of international stars. Some parts of the Saturday evening show ''
Ein Kessel Buntes
''Ein Kessel Buntes'' ("A Kettle of Colour") was a television variety show in the former East Germany. It broadcast from 1972 to 1992. A total of 113 shows were made, six per yeaIt was sent at first from the Friedrichstadtpalast theatre, and later ...
'' were filmed here.
Present day
Building
Today, the Friedrichstadt-Palast is the largest and most modern show palace in Europe. On April 27, 1984, the new Friedrichstadt-Palast opened. It measures wide, long and covers a floor area of . Its concrete architecture retains basic ideas of the old interior vestibule, but has a new contemporary façade. The three reliefs on the south side and one on the north side of the building are works by sculptor
Emilia N. Bayer. They relate back to the history of the Palace as a circus, theater and
vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
theater.
The Friedrichstadt-Palast's large hall is regularly used as a performing space, and has a seating capacity 1,895. Its stage floor of is the largest in the world. The wide
proscenium arch
A proscenium ( grc-gre, προσκήνιον, ) is the metaphorical vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor ...
is the widest in Europe.
Management
* 1995: The theater converted to a
GmbH company.
* 1995 – 2004: Alexander Iljinskij became the first artistic director.
* 2004 – October 2007: Thomas Münstermann and Guido Herrmann became the directors.
* November 2007 – present: Dr. Berndt Schmidt became the director and sole manager.
Performances
![Berlin3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Berlin3.jpg)
Friedrichstadt-Palast has diverse programing, ranging from children's shows, guest performances, and festival galas. The venue specializes in complex shows that use advanced lighting and stage technology, over a hundred performers, and stylized acrobatic numbers. “Now we are modern – trying to compete with
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, but not in a western or American way,” said Berndt Schmidt. In residence, the Friedrichstadt-Palast has a Ballet Company, a show-band, and a Youth Ensemble. The shows are suitable for an international audience.
The Ballet Company, directed by Alexandra Georgieva, includes 60 dancers from 26 countries worldwide. The ensemble blends different styles of dance, including jazz, modern, hip-hop and street-dance.
The show band of the Friedrichstadt-Palast, directed by Daniel Behrens, includes 16 musicians.
The Children and Youth Ensemble, “Children play for children,” has 250 Berlin children ranging from ages 6–16. The beginnings of the ensemble dates back to 1947 when 250 Berlin children trained there. Currently it receives 1,000 applicants, and 20-30 children can be accepted. Former members of the ensemble have been
Paula Beer (won Best Young Actress Award from the Bavarian Film Award),
Alina Levshin
Alina Levshin (born September 10, 1984) is a German-Ukrainian actress. She moved with her parents from the Soviet Union to Germany when she was six.Jörg Thomann''Sie kann auch anders.''In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, 15 Januar 2012 ...
(won Best Actress for “Warrior” from the German Cinema Film Award), and
Julia Richter (winner of the
Hersfeld-Preis
The Hersfeld-Preis is an award for an actor. It has been awarded annually since 1962 as part of the Bad Hersfelder Festspiele of the ''Gesellschaft der Freunde der Stiftsruine'' and the city of Bad Hersfeld
The festival and spa town of Bad Hersf ...
in 1996).
Since 2009, the venue has been used for the
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...
.
The
Quatsch Comedy Club
Thomas Hermanns (born 5 March 1963) is a German TV presenter, comedian, screenwriter and director. He is the founder of the comedy show ''Quatsch Comedy Club''.
Early life
Hermanns was born in Bochum. During his childhood he lived in Nuremberg. A ...
is located in the basement of Friedrichstadt-Palast. The club's founder
Thomas Hermanns launched the popularity of stand-up comedy in Berlin in the early nineties. From Thursday to Sunday, German stand-up comedians perform at the "Club Mix". Guests have included
Bernhard Hoëcker
Bernhard Hoëcker (; born Bernhard Hoecker-von Mühlenfels; 20 March 1970) is a German comedian, actor and television presenter. He is best known for the spoof show Switch, as well as being a permanent member of the previous Genial guessing team ...
,
Olaf Schubert,
Dave Davis and Cloozy Haber.
[ ]
References
External links
Official Website – www.palast.berlinanthonyh / GSHDFEs + theater + in + Berlin Museum of Architecture of the TU-Berlinwebsite of the artist Emilia N. Bayer{{Authority control
Culture in Berlin
Entertainment venues in Germany
Entertainment in Berlin
Heritage sites in Berlin
Performing arts in Germany
Performing arts venues in Germany
Rebuilt buildings and structures in Berlin
Theatres in Berlin
Theatre in Berlin
Theatres in Germany
Theatre in Germany
Tourist attractions in Berlin