Admiralspalast

The Admiralspalast is a theatre on Friedrichstraße in Berlin’s Mitte district. Built in 1910 on the site of an earlier bath house, it was part of a large leisure complex. The building survived the Second World War with little damage and still stands as one of the city’s few preserved variety venues from before the war. It originally housed a skating rink, public baths, bowling alleys, a café and a cinema that never closed. After the war it briefly served as the home of the Berlin State Opera. The Admiralspalast played a notable role in German political history. In April 1946 the Social Democratic and Communist parties of the Soviet zone met there and merged to form the Socialist Unity Party. The building also housed the offices of the GDR Union of Journalists for many years. Revues and operettas continued under the name Metropol-Theater until the venue closed in 1997. After being restored, it reopened in 2006 with a production of The Threepenny Opera directed by Klaus Maria Brandauer. Today the Admiralspalast is a theatre once again. Its stage hosts plays and musicals in a setting that blends early 20th-century architecture with modern refurbishments. The auditorium seats 1,756 people and retains the grandeur of its original design. Visitors find a grand foyer and ornate interiors alongside the practical comforts of a contemporary theatre. The building sits on a busy corner of Friedrichstraße, close to other landmarks and the city’s transport links.