Theater Koblenz

Theater Koblenz stands in the heart of Koblenz, a short walk from the Electoral Palace. The building dates from 1787 and was designed by Peter Joseph Krahe for Elector Clemens Wenzeslaus. It is the only surviving classical theatre on the Middle Rhine and the earliest German example of a rank theatre. The façade shows neo-classical pilasters and a Latin inscription above the entrance. Inside, the auditorium is painted in blue, grey and white with illusionistic decorations added during the 1980s restoration. The stage is framed by fluted columns and topped by the motto ‘Ridendo Corrigo Mores’. The theatre has been a centre of cultural life for more than two centuries. Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail opened here in 1787 under Johann Heinrich Böhm. Henriette Sontag gave her only Koblenz performance in 1851. After wartime closure in 1944, the building survived intact and hosted the founding meeting of Rhineland-Palatinate’s first assembly in 1946. Today it houses drama, music theatre, puppetry and ballet ensembles with performers from twenty-two countries. The summer festival uses the nearby Festung Ehrenbreitstein. Visitors enter a flat-roofed vestibule and pass Doric pillars to reach the horseshoe-shaped auditorium. Three tiers of boxes curve around the hall, painted to suggest greater height and space. The ceiling appears as a dome through perspective tricks, while a central chandelier reinforces the illusion. Outside, the Clemensbrunnen fountain faces the theatre on Deinhardplatz. The building is protected as a cultural monument and part of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley World Heritage Site.