Brünings Saalbau

Brünings Saalbau stands in Braunschweig on the Damm, a street that once carried carriages and now carries quiet footsteps. Built between 1787 and 1792 as a town palace for a chamber councillor, it rose three storeys with eleven window bays and a bold central balcony upheld by sturdy pillars. The façade wore a plain coat of plaster strips and side doors, while inside the entrance hall led to a large concert room of 560 square metres with a stage of 260 square metres. The building became a lively centre for concerts, theatre and politics. In 1897 the Society of German Natural Scientists and Physicians met here, where Richard Meyer spoke on chemical research and Wilhelm Waldeyer on heredity. In 1898 Otto Devrient staged a seven-part play about Martin Luther before thousands gathered in 1918 to protest the revolutionary government. The house also hosted wrestling tournaments with international stars and election rallies for the Deutschnationale Partei. Visitors found a winter garden with side rooms, a billiard hall in the cellar and four bowling alleys beneath the main floor. The first upper storey held two club rooms and three parlours, while the top floor sheltered the innkeeper’s family. Gas and electric lights, including two chandeliers of eighty-four bulbs each, lit the great hall, and the stage descended by mechanical traps. After war damage in 1944 the ruins were cleared, leaving only the memory of a place where music, debate and spectacle once filled the air.