Nestroyhof

The Nestroyhof is a Jugendstil building designed by Oskar Marmorek and completed in 1898. It stands on Nestroyplatz in Vienna’s second district, the Leopoldstadt. The structure was originally commissioned by Marmorek for his father-in-law Julius Schwarz. The building began as a centre for Jewish culture, with Marmorek closely associated with Theodor Herzl. It later housed a lively entertainment venue, the Nestroy-Säle, which included a theatre, restaurants, and a dance bar. The Intime Theater within the complex premiered Frank Wedekind’s *Pandora’s Box* in 1905 with a cast including Tilly Newes and Adele Sandrock. From 1904 to 1918, Emil Richter-Roland and Oscar Friedmann ran the theatre as a literary stage, presenting works by Gorki, Strindberg, and Maeterlinck. Today the Nestroyhof contains the Theatre Nestroyhof Hamakom, which was restored after an original auditorium and balcony were rediscovered in 2003. The theatre presents plays, readings, and exhibitions, with recent seasons including performances of *Die verlassene Dido* and programmes of contemporary art. The adjacent Kunstraum Nestroyhof once hosted over thirty exhibitions of modern art before closing in 2022. The building’s history remains visible in its restored spaces and the preserved Egyptian-style Sphinx bar in the cellar.