The Balver Höhle (German for Balve Cave) is the biggest cave used as a cultural venue in Europe. It is located in

Balve Balve () is a town in the Märkischer Kreis district, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in ''Hönnetal'', a narrow valley created by the river Hönne, which is near the Sorpe Dam, formerly part of Balve, and at the north end of the S ...

, Germany.

History

The Balve Cave was mentioned in the Thidrekssaga. It has been used by the local ''

Schützenfest A Schützenfest (, '' marksmen's festival'') is a traditional festival or fair featuring a target shooting competition in the cultures of Switzerland, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. At a Schützenfest, contestants compete based on thei ...

'' (marksmen's festival) each year for over 160 years. Since 1985 it has also been the venue of an annual theatre and music festival, the ''

Festspiele Balver Höhle Festspiele Balver Höhle is an arts festival, featuring musical and theatrical performances, in Balve, Germany. The festival is centered on the cave of Balve ('' Balver Höhle'' in German). The association was founded in 1985 in Volkringhausen ...

''. Its first play was the '' Katharina von Georgien'' directed by

Hermann Wedekind Hermann Wedekind (18 November 1910, in Coesfeld, Westphalia – 16 January 1998, in Wadern) was an artistic director at Festspiele Balver Höhle from 1983 to 1996. Vita After his first engagements in Hagen and Bielefeld, Wedekind was brought to t ...

.In 1991 it staged dramas based on fairy tales festival was installed by ''Festspiele Balver Höhle''. In 1998 the ''Festspiele Balver Höhle'' performed their first oriental

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

. In 2009 they did their second, "Der kleine Muck". Semi-professionals and

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

s are working together at ''Irish Folk & Celtic Music'', '' Balver Märchenwochen'' and other activities of ''Festspiele Balver Höhle''.

Rehearsals

* Christian Bollmann (until 1999) *

Justus Frantz Justus Frantz (born 18 May 1944 in Inowrocław, Poland, then Hohensalza, Germany) is a German pianist, conductor, and television personality. Life Frantz began playing piano at the age of ten and later studied with Eliza Hansen and Wilhelm K ...

(1994–2007) *Mixery-Cave

Single events

*Redentiner Osterspiel *Mal Sondock's ''Hitparade'' *Public Viewing"So ein Tag, so wunderschön wie heute..."
/ref> *Tu es Petrus (1997)

Recordings

*Live in der Balver Höhle (1980) *Klangräume (1996) *

MTV Unplugged ''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV. It showcases recorded live performances of popular music artists playing acoustic instrument, acoustic or "unplugged" variations of songs. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999. F ...

Fanta 4 (2000)

Literature

In German

*Klaus Günther, Die altsteinzeitlichen Funde der Balver Höhle, Aschendorff Verlag, Münster 1964

References

External links

Veranstaltungen in der Balver Höhle - Schützenbruderschaft St. Sebastian Balve
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balver Hohle Show caves in Germany Balve Westphalia culture Landforms of North Rhine-Westphalia Tourist attractions in North Rhine-Westphalia Caves of Germany Prehistoric cannibalism