Friedrichstadt-Palast

The Friedrichstadt-Palast stands on Berlin’s Friedrichstraße in the Mitte district. It is a revue theatre, the largest and most modern of its kind in Europe. The present building opened in 1984, replacing the old hall demolished in 1985. Its concrete façade carries four sculpted reliefs by Emilia N. Bayer that recall the site’s circus and theatre past. Inside, the main hall seats 1,895 people beneath a 24-metre proscenium arch, the widest in Europe. The stage floor covers 2,854 square metres, the largest in the world. The building’s history began in 1867 as Berlin’s first market hall, designed by Friedrich Hitzig. Converted to a circus in 1873, it later hosted Circus Renz with up to 8,000 seats. Ernst Renz installed a water channel through the auditorium and built on 863 piles over swampy ground. After circuses and revues came and went, Max Reinhardt transformed it into a theatre in 1919, adding a revolving stage and modern lighting. The dome’s teardrop pins were later removed under the Nazis, and air raids in 1945 left the building damaged. Visitors today find a vast, uncluttered hall with excellent sightlines to the stage. The foyer retains cast-iron columns and stucco ceilings from the 1919 rebuild. Backstage, rehearsal rooms, workshops and costume stores support the daily programme. The reliefs on the south and north walls show acrobats, horses and stage machinery, linking each performance to the building’s long tradition.