Theatre Münster

Münster Theatre is one of the city's largest cultural institutions and looks back on a long tradition - since the first performance in 1956. With five sections and three venues, a large number of performances of various kinds are on the programme throughout the year. The programme includes musical theatre (opera, operetta and musicals), drama (classical world literature as well as contemporary premieres), dance (with an international ensemble), young theatre (with fairy tales or new plays for children) and around 80 concerts by the Münster Symphony Orchestra. The approximately 600 performances take place in the large house, the small house and the U2 venue. The house itself, with its special architecture, is considered the "thunderbolt of theatre architecture".

Münster's theatre historyIn 1774, Franz Freiherr von Fürstenberg built the so-called Komödienhaus, Münster's first municipal theatre, in a former slaughterhouse. Whereas before the opening of this municipal theatre, mainly plays were shown in the rooms of the Krameramtshaus, now around 20,000 Münster residents attended singspiels and operas in the theatre building. The quality improved increasingly, at the latest when the well-known actor Albert Lortzinger found his way onto Münster's stage from 1826 to 1833. When the building was demolished in 1890, the Lortzinger Theatre was built in the former aristocratic courtyard of the von Romberg family. However, bombing during the Second World War destroyed the house in 1941, whereupon makeshift stages were set up in the Stadthalle, which was less affected. Due to financial bottlenecks, no new theatre could be built for the time being, despite approval by the city council. But the project was pursued and elaborated. The designs submitted in 1953 included the revised plan by Edmund Scharf (from 1950), the proposals by Hans Ostermann and the group of architects Harald Deilmann, Max von Hausen, Ortwin Rave and Werner Ruhnau. Thanks to the generosity and support of many benefactors, the colossal project, which took 20 months to build and cost DM 5.3 million, was begun in 1954. On 4 February 1956, the curtain of the new building was raised for the first time for Mozart's Magic Flute by the Städtische Bühnen Münster. The five-hour production and a grand ceremony marked the opening of the first post-war theatre building in Germany. The press described this achitectural work as a "thunderclap" in theatre architecture. In 1971, the Großes Haus (955 seats) was joined by a second venue, the Kleines Haus (around 280 seats). With the 2012/2013 season, General Director Dr Ulrich Peters took over the Städtische Bühnen Münster, which was renamed Theater Münster at that time.