The Großes Schauspielhaus (Great Playhouse) was a revue theatre in the Mitte district of Berlin, Germany. It was founded by the Deutsches Nationaltheater AG, a vehicle of Max Reinhardt, in 1919 through the expressionist renovation of a 19th-century market hall by Hans Poelzig.
- Venue
- Großes Schauspielhaus
- Town
- Bezirk Mitte, DE
The Großes Schauspielhaus (Great Playhouse) was a revue theatre in the Mitte district of Berlin, Germany. It was founded by the Deutsches Nationaltheater AG, a vehicle of Max Reinhardt, in 1919 through the expressionist renovation of a 19th-century market hall by Hans Poelzig. Following the Nazi seizure of power, the theatre was taken over by the German Labour Front, renamed Theater des Volkes lit. 'Theatre of the People', and stripped of its expressionist decoration. After the Second World War, it was reestablished under the Soviet Occupation as a variety venue and eventually renamed Friedrichstadt-Palast. The building was closed in 1980 and demolished in 1985, and the theatre's legacy is continued by the present Friedrichstadt-Palast (often called "Neuer Friedrichstadt-Palast" in recognition of the theatre's prior location). The building that would later become the Großes Schauspielhaus was built on the right bank of the Spree, on the Schiffbauerdamm, between 1865 and 1867 as Berlin's first modern, purpose-built market hall. It was designed in a loosely neoclassical style by Friedrich Hitzig. Due to the site's marshy condition, the iron-framed building was built on extensive oak piling. However, due to lacking public interest in the hall, it was closed after a few months of operation. After a brief stint as a food depot, including for the Prussian Army during the Franco-Prussian War, it became the 5,000-seat Markthallen-Zirkus (Market Hall Circus) in 1873 under Albert Salamonsky. Thereafter, its street address would be Am Zirkus 1 (By the Circus 1). From 1879 to 1897, the notable Circus Renz used the space after its prior building was demolished to build Friedrichstraße Station. The circus's owner, Ernst Renz, had the building's audience capacity expanded to 5,600 in 1888. It was also periodically used as a public event space, and hosted Robert Koch's international congress on tuberculosis in 1890. Upon the closing of the Circus Renz, the building was auctioned to