Waldviertler Hoftheater

The Waldviertler Hoftheater stands in Pürbach, a village in the northern Waldviertel region of Lower Austria. It occupies a converted 19th-century mayor’s farmhouse, making it Austria’s most northerly theatre. The building now houses a stage with professional lighting and sound, a 178-seat auditorium, a theatre café, a champagne bar and an exhibition space for local artists. Since a winter-proof renovation in 2001 the company performs all year round. After the founder’s death in 2015 his son Moritz Hierländer took charge, continuing a family tradition. The programme ranges from classical dramas and modern plays to cabaret and music events. Guest performers have included Alfred Dorfer, Josef Hader and Wolfgang Böck. Recent seasons have featured Joan Toma’s Don Camillo and Peppone, Ferdinand Raimund’s Der Alpenkönig und der Menschenfeind, Uli Boettcher and Bernd Kohlhepp’s Tonspurpiraten, Yasmina Reza’s Der Gott des Gemetzels and Felix Mitterer’s Munde, first staged on the summit of the Nebelstein. The theatre also runs the Waldviertler Stummfilmkino in Vitis, where live musicians accompany silent classics such as Nosferatu and Der General. Visitors find a working theatre set among rolling Waldviertel countryside. The main house seats 178 in raked rows, while the Stummfilmkino in Vitis shows films in a restored town-centre cinema. Between shows guests can relax in the theatre café or browse the exhibition room. The surrounding villages offer quiet lanes and viewpoints over the granite highlands.