Raimund Theater

The Raimund Theatre stands in Vienna’s Mariahilf district, a theatre built by local citizens and opened in 1893. Named after the dramatist Ferdinand Raimund, it seats around 1,200 and was the first in the city fully lit by electricity. The building was designed by Franz Roth and began with German folk plays before turning to operetta in 1908. During the Second World War it escaped bombing and reopened quickly in 1945 with the operetta Dreimäderlhaus. The theatre became a centre for operetta under Rudolf Marik, who directed it for nearly thirty years. Stars such as Johannes Heesters and Marika Rökk appeared there, and many actors began their careers at the Raimund. After 1976 it also hosted musicals, including Kurt Weill’s Lady in the Dark. In 1987 it joined Vereinigte Bühnen Wien and presented major productions like Les Misérables and The Phantom of the Opera. Today the Raimund stages large musicals and world premieres. Recent productions include Rebecca, We Will Rock You with Queen’s original members, and Elisabeth returning for its third Vienna run. The theatre’s stage has seen premières of Dance of the Vampires, Barbarella, and Udo Jürgens’s musical Ich war noch niemals in New York. Its programme continues to shape the German-speaking musical theatre world.