Saalbau

The Saalbau stands in Neustadt an der Weinstraße, a town in the Palatinate region of Rheinland-Pfalz. It is a modern multi-purpose events and congress centre used for theatre and concerts as well as conferences, exhibitions and festivals. The building sits just north-west of the main railway station, separated by the station forecourt. The Saalbau opened in 1873, designed by Munich architect Albert Geul in the Neo-Renaissance style. In 1949 it hosted the first crowning of the German Wine Queen, Elisabeth Kuhn. A serious fire in 1980 destroyed much of the interior, but the centre was rebuilt and reopened in 1984 in the presence of Chancellor Helmut Kohl and Minister-President Bernhard Vogel. Inside, the two-storey hall follows the plan of a three-aisled basilica, though the choir sits at the west end instead of the usual east. A broad staircase leads up to the main entrance on the east front, supported by six columns. Beyond the entrance hall lies the 500-square-metre main hall, lit by a central clerestory. On either side are the Scheffel and Beethoven halls, each 200 square metres. Outside, the forecourt is named after Daniel Meininger, the publisher who proposed the idea of a German Wine Queen.