The Burgtheater is the most prestigious German-language theatre and one of the oldest and most important European theatres of any language. Founded by Empress Maria Theresia in 1741 as the court theatre next to the Hofburg, the company moved in 1888 to its current grand building on the Ringstraße designed by Gottfried Semper and Carl Hasenauer. The 1,300-seat main stage is famous for its wide proscenium and richly ornamented auditorium, with ceiling frescoes by Gustav Klimt and his brother Ernst among the young painters' early commissions. The Burgtheater holds an unmatched position in the canonical German-language theatrical tradition: every major German and Austrian actor of the past two centuries has measured themselves against its ensemble. Defining Intendants have included Claus Peymann, who brought the provocative contemporary dramatists Thomas Bernhard, Peter Handke, and Elfriede Jelinek to the house in the 1980s and 1990s. The company also operates the Akademietheater for contemporary work and the Kasino am Schwarzenbergplatz.
The Burgtheater is the only German-language theatre with its own distinctive pronunciation—the legendary Burgtheaterdeutsch, a stylised stage German taught only here and at a handful of German conservatories.
At a glance
- Type
- Theatre
- Location
- Vienna, Austria
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