Stadttheater Düren was a theatre in Düren,

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...

, Germany. The house was built from 1905 to 1907 to a design by

Carl Moritz Carl Moritz (27 April 1863 – 23 August 1944) was a German architect and real-estate entrepreneur. Based in Cologne, he built the Cologne opera house of 1902, and various banks, theatres and churches in Germany. Career Born in Berlin, ...

, the architect of the opera house in Cologne, on what is now the Hoeschplatz. A Düren businessman, Eberhard Hoesch, had donated 500,000

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * F ...

s for a new theatre; until then performances had been held at

inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...

s. After only 14 months of construction, the theatre opened on 17 January 1907. The house in

Jugendstil ''Jugendstil'' ("Youth Style") was an artistic movement, particularly in the decorative arts, that was influential primarily in Germany and elsewhere in Europe to a lesser extent from about 1895 until about 1910. It was the German counterpart of ...

style seated 700 people. The theatre had no permanent ensemble but housed visiting performances, including by actors

Willy Birgel Willy Birgel (19 September 1891 – 29 December 1973), born Wilhelm Maria Birgel, was a German theatre and film actor. Career Birgel began his acting career before World War I on the stage in his native city of Cologne, and came to movies ra ...

Paul Henckels Paul Henckels (9 September 1885 – 27 May 1967) was a German film and stage actor. He appeared in more than 230 films between 1921 and 1965. Paul Henckels had started his acting career on the stage in the 1900s. He was well known for his e ...

and Asta Nielsen, pianist

Elly Ney Elly Ney (27 September 1882 – 31 March 1968) was a German romantic pianist who specialized in Beethoven, and was especially popular in Germany. Career She was born in Düsseldorf, where her mother was a music instructor and her father was a r ...

and conductor

Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan (; born Heribert Ritter von Karajan; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, wit ...

. The theatre was destroyed by bombing in

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 opposing ...

on 16 November 1944. Only the basement and the facade remained. The ruin was demolished in 1952, using the stones for the walls of a cemetery in the Kölnstraße. Theatre performances were resumed in various venues, first on 25 April 1946 in a hall of a hospital (today: LVR-Klinik Düren), then in the hall of the gymnasium Stiftisches Gymnasium, from 30 November 1991 in the municipal ''Haus der Stadt''.

External links

Theater in Düren
photograph of 1912, Dachziegel-Katalog (Ludowici)
Stadttheater Düren
on old postcards, andreas-praefcke.de {{DEFAULTSORT:Stadttheater Duren Theatres in North Rhine-Westphalia Theatres completed in 1907 Art Nouveau architecture in Germany Art Nouveau theatres 1907 establishments in Germany Buildings and structures in Düren (district) Buildings and structures demolished in 1952 Buildings and structures in Germany destroyed during World War II