The Beethovenhalle () is a concert hall in

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

. It is the third hall in that city to bear the name of Bonn-born composer

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

History

The first Beethovenhalle was a temporary structure built in 1845 during the inauguration of the Beethoven Monument, located in the Münsterplatz. The second hall was built in 1870 for centennial celebration of Beethoven's birth. It was also wood with a stucco Neoclassical façade and a rectangular auditorium. The interior contained galleries along the side walls and could accommodate 1,500 people. During the next several years, the hall not only hosted concerts, but also poetry readings, boxing matches, charity bazaars, the

Oberammergau Passion Play The Oberammergau Passion Play (german: Oberammergauer Passionsspiele) is a passion play that has been performed every 10 years from 1634 to 1674 and each decadal year since 1680 (with a few exceptions) by the inhabitants of the village of Obera ...

and gatherings for the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

. The hall was destroyed on 18 October 1944 during a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

bombing raid.

The new hall

In 1952, the building committee recommended constructing a new hall on the site of several former university hospitals on the north edge of the old city that had been destroyed during the war. In January 1954, the city council announced a competition to design the structure and received 109 entries from around the world. The judging committee narrowed the field and ultimately selected the design by German architect Siegfried Wolske. The cornerstone was laid 16 March 1956 by

President of Germany The president of Germany, officially the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: link=no, Bundespräsident der Bundesrepublik Deutschland),The official title within Germany is ', with ' being added in international corres ...

Theodor Heuss Theodor Heuss (; 31 January 1884 – 12 December 1963) was a German liberal politician who served as the first president of West Germany from 1949 to 1959. His cordial nature – something of a contrast to the stern character of chancellor Ko ...

. Construction concluded in 1959 and the opening concert was on 8 September 1959. Total costs were DM9 million with the national and

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

governments contributing DM 1 million each, DM 6.5 million from the city of Bonn and DM 1 million in private contributions. Since its completion, it has become an emblem of the city and one of the most important buildings of contemporary Germany. As the earlier halls, it is characterized by an excellent acoustic and plays an important role in the preservation of Beethoven’s musical tradition. Furthermore it is the home of the

Beethoven Orchester Bonn The Beethoven Orchester Bonn is a German symphony orchestra based in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia. It dates back to 1907, when a professional orchestra was established. Named for Ludwig van Beethoven, who was born in Bonn, the orchestra's princ ...

. The opening and the final concert of the

Beethovenfest The Beethovenfest (Beethoven Festival) is a festival of classical music in Bonn, Germany, dedicated mostly to the music of Ludwig van Beethoven who was born there. It dates back to 1845, when the composer's 75th anniversary of birth was celebrat ...

takes place in the large hall, which seats about 2000 guests. Prominent artists from around the world regularly perform in the Beethovenhalle and it also hosts carnivals, exhibitions, celebrations, conferences and conventions such as

AnimagiC The AnimagiC is a German annual anime convention and one of the largest of its kinds in the German-speaking world with currently about 12,000 visitors. History From the first event in the summer of 1999 through 2005 the AnimagiC took place in th ...

Spot for political and historical events

When Bonn was the capital of

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, the Beethovenhalle was often an important venue for political and historical events. The Bundesversammlung met in the hall on four occasions between 1974 and 1989 to elect the

. Since 1990, the Beethovenhalle has been a protected monument. In 1996, Siegfried Wolske oversaw renovations to the building for an estimated cost of DM 22.6 million (€11.55 million) that included adding three meeting rooms to the south wing.

References

{{Authority control Ludwig van Beethoven Concert halls in Germany Buildings and structures in Bonn Tourist attractions in Bonn Music venues completed in 1959 1959 establishments in West Germany