Burgtheater

Vienna, Austria

The Burgtheater (Imperial Court Theatre) opened on 14 March 1741, the creation of the Habsburg Empress Maria Theresa of Austria who wanted a theatre next to her palace. Three Mozart operas premiered there. The theatre's first building adjoined the Hofburg at Michaelerplatz, opposite St. Michael's Church. The theatre was moved to a new building at the Ringstraße in 1888 designed by Gottfried Semper and Karl Freiherr von Hasenauer.

On March 12, 1945 the Burgtheater was largely destroyed in a bombing raid, and, one month later, on April 12, 1945, it was further damaged by a fire of unknown origin. After the war, the theatre was restored between 1953 and 1955. The classic Burgtheater style and the Burgtheater-German language were trend-setting for German language theatres.

References:

Comments

Your name



Details

Founded: 1888
Category: Miscellaneous historic sites in Austria

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Robert Patruna (3 years ago)
Beautiful building
Gregor Petri (3 years ago)
The Burgtheater in Vienna is an Austrian federal theatre. It is considered one of the most important theatres in Europe and is the second oldest European theatre after the Comédie-Française as well as the largest German-language theatre. The old Burgtheater had been located on Michaelerplatz since 1748. In October 1888, the new building on today's Universitätsring (then Franzensring) was opened. After it was completely burnt out in 1945 due to bombing, the Ronacher served as an alternative venue until its reopening on 14 October 1955. The Burgtheater is considered the Austrian national theatre. Older names of the Burgtheater were k.k.. Theatre nächst der Burg and thereafter until 1918 k.k. Hof-Burgtheater. Especially in Vienna it is often called "Die Burg" for short, the ensemble members are known as "Burgschauspieler". According to the number of employees and budget, it is the "richest and largest repertory theatre in the world". The director of the Burgtheater since September 2019 is Martin Kušej.
D P Rogers (4 years ago)
Beautiful 18th century theatre rebuilt several times, most recently after being damaged in WWII. Home to some amazing premiers by Mozart and Beethoven. Very accessable and some very reasonably priced (before Covid). Two bars inside, great for drinks and snacks.
Benedict Uy (4 years ago)
I was only able to look at it across the road in Rathasupark. The building looked quite nice and intricate but was not able to examine it closer or go inside.
TY Nesher (4 years ago)
Am rating just the outer building look. Very beautiful
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Château de Foix

The Château de Foix dominates the town of Foix. An important tourist site, it is known as a centre of the Cathars. Built on an older 7th-century fortification, the castle is known from 987. In 1002, it was mentioned in the will of Roger I, Count of Carcassonne, who bequeathed the fortress to his youngest child, Bernard. In effect, the family ruling over the region were installed here which allowed them to control access to the upper Ariège valley and to keep surveillance from this strategic point over the lower land, protected behind impregnable walls.

In 1034, the castle became capital of the County of Foix and played a decisive role in medieval military history. During the two following centuries, the castle was home to Counts with shining personalities who became the soul of the Occitan resistance during the crusade against the Albigensians.