Komödienhaus

The Komödienhaus stood on Schiffbauerdamm in Berlin-Mitte, a four-storey building facing the Spree. Built in 1907–08 as the Neues Operetten-Theater, it opened on 6 March 1908. The façade featured a wide balcony spanning the second and third floors, supported by columns, and a name band on the fourth storey. Above the roof rose an open lantern capped by a small dome, designed by the architect. The building was demolished after wartime bombing left only a cleared ruin. The house quickly became a centre for operetta and comedy under directors such as Victor Palfi and Rudolf Lothar. In 1910 it presented the three-act operetta Der Graf von Luxemburg with music by Franz Lehár. Stars like Johannes Heesters and Lotte Stein appeared on its stage. The 1929 premiere of Scribbys Suppen sind die besten drew Curt Bois and Paul Hörbiger to its cast. On 17 January 1932 Bertolt Brecht’s Die Mutter had its first performance here. By 1922 the auditorium held about 1,000 seats across two balconies and four side boxes. Today the site remains empty; no new building occupies Schiffbauerdamm 25. Nearby, modern government buildings such as the Marie-Elisabeth-Lüders-Haus line the riverbank. The former theatre’s lantern and balcony survive only in photographs and architectural records.