![Façade of Théâtre national de Strasbourg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Fa%C3%A7ade_of_Th%C3%A9%C3%A2tre_national_de_Strasbourg.jpg)
The National Theatre of Strasbourg is a palace building on Strasbourg's
Place de la République
The Place de la République (known as the Place du Château d'Eau until 1879) is a square in Paris, located on the border between the 3rd, 10th and 11th arrondissements. The square has an area of .Warner, p. 250 Named after the First, Second an ...
, now occupied by a theatre company of the same name, the National Theatre of Strasbourg (''Théâtre national de Strasbourg'', TNS).
The TNS was originally built to house the legislative assembly of the regional parliament of
Alsace-Lorraine, after the area came under German control with the
Treaty of Frankfurt (1871)
The Treaty of Frankfurt (french: Traité de Francfort; german: Friede von Frankfurt) was a peace treaty signed in Frankfurt on 10 May 1871, at the end of the Franco-Prussian War.
Summary
The treaty did the following:
* Established the fronti ...
.
It was built between 1888 and 1889 in
Neorenaissance style by the architect partners
August Hartel and
Skjold Neckelmann
Skjold Neckelmann (born November 24, 1854 - May 13, 1903) was a Danish-German architect, best known for designing four Strasbourg buildings that are landmarks of the Neustadt district - the National and University Library, the National Theatr ...
.
History
In 1919, when Alsace-Lorraine returned to France, the French Government offered the building to the city of Strasbourg, which in turn offered it to the
Strasbourg music conservatory, at the behest of its new director
Guy Ropartz
Joseph Guy Marie Ropartz (; 15 June 1864 – 22 November 1955) was a French composer and conductor. His compositions included five symphonies, three violin sonatas, cello sonatas, six string quartets, a piano trio and string trio (both in A minor ...
, who was refusing to occupy the
Palais du Rhin
The Palais du Rhin ( en, Palace of the Rhine), the former ''Kaiserpalast'' (Imperial palace), is a building situated in the German (north-east) quarter of Strasbourg ( Neustadt) dominating the '' Place de la République'' (the former ''Kaiserplatz' ...
opposite.
On 25 September 1944, the east wing of the building that contained the Chamber of the Assembly was destroyed by American bombing. It was reconstructed between 1950 and 1957, this time with a theatre auditorium replacing the assembly chamber.
Michel Saint-Denis
Michel Jacques Saint-Denis (13 September 1897 – 31 July 1971), ''dit'' Jacques Duchesne, was a French actor, theatre director, and drama theorist whose ideas on actor training have had a profound influence on the development of European th ...
, the director of the National Theatre of Strasbourg at the time, entrusted this work to the architect Pierre Sonrel, who had recently worked with him in London restoring
The Old Vic
The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, not-for-profit producing theatre in Waterloo, London, England. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Theatre. In 1871 it was rebuilt and reopened as the Royal ...
, which itself had been badly damaged by wartime bombing.
In 1995, the façade, roofing, and the entrance on Place de la République were classified as a
Monument historique.
Conservatory
In 1922, the
Conservatory of Strasbourg (founded in 1855, the same year as the
Orchestre philharmonique) was moved into the upper part of the building and several teaching rooms were built in as well as a concert hall. In 1995, the building wasn't deemed suitable enough for teaching music any more and the conservatory had to move out; it was subsequently relocated in the ''Cité de la musique et de la danse'', a state-of-the-art building inaugurated in 2006. The concert hall has remained unused since. In 2016, the monumental
pipe organ, a 1963 work by organ builder Curt Schwenkedel, was restored and moved into
Saint Stephen’s Church, where it started a new life as a
church organ
Carol Williams performing at the United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel.">West_Point_Cadet_Chapel.html" ;"title="United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel">United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel.
...
instead of a
concert organ.
Seating capacities
The Hartel and Neckelmann building houses two rooms: the ''salle
Bernard-Marie Koltès
Bernard-Marie Koltès (; 9 April 1948 – 15 April 1989) was a French playwright and theatre director best known for his plays ''La Nuit juste avant les Forêts'' (''The Night Just Before the Forests'', 1976), ''Sallinger'' (1977) and ''Dans la ...
'' (470 or 600 seats) and the ''salle
Hubert Gignoux'' (a 200-seat modular room). Two other theater rooms (120 and 250 seats, respectively) used by the TNS are located in ''Espace
Klaus Michael Grüber'' in rue Jacques Kablé.
References
External links
TNS website
{{Authority control
Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Monuments historiques of Strasbourg
Strasbourg