Theater Lübeck

Theater Lübeck stands in Lübeck’s Old City on Beckergrube, a street near the cathedral. Built in 1908 in Art Nouveau style, it replaced an 18th-century house where the first German opera north of the Alps was performed in 1746. Martin Dülfer designed the theatre, and local businessman Emil Possehl paid for it. Sculptor Georg Roemer carved the sandstone facade, showing Apollo and the Muses, Comedy and Tragedy, and figures by Karl Weinberger. The building was fully restored in the 1990s. The theatre is one of the largest in Schleswig-Holstein and managed by a city-owned company. Thomas Mann described its 19th-century transition in his novel Buddenbrooks. Three famous conductors began their careers here: Hermann Abendroth, Wilhelm Furtwängler and Christoph von Dohnányi. Today it presents opera, ballet, plays, chamber music and concerts by the Lübeck Philharmonic Orchestra. Half of its profits go to the city, with smaller shares to surrounding districts and cultural supporters. Inside, the restored house offers a grand auditorium and foyers with period details. Visitors find programmes ranging from classical drama to modern works. The theatre’s programme changes regularly, giving audiences new choices each season. Outside, the Beckergrube setting links the building to Lübeck’s historic streets and the cathedral close.