The Schauspiel Köln is the traditional drama venue of Cologne. Together with the Cologne Opera and other houses, it forms the Bühnen der Stadt Köln. The listed building has 830 seats in the Großes Haus, 120 in the Schlosserei and 60 in the Erfrischungsraum. The listed Halle Kalk, with 200 seats, was also played until its closure due to risk of collapse in summer 2015. Since the 2013/14 season, Depot 1 and Depot 2 on the grounds of the former Carlswerk in Cologne-Mülheim have served as interim venues during the extensive refurbishment of the Schauspielhaus. In late August 2024 the cultural commissioner Stefan Charles announced that the 2025/2026 season would still be planned at the interim venue. The history of Cologne's theatre begins in the Middle Ages. A first permanent house was built in 1782 in the Schmierstraße, which was subsequently renamed Komödienstraße. A successor building of 1829 was destroyed by fire in 1869. In 1872 a new house was erected in the Glockengasse, designed by Julius Carl Raschdorff with construction supervision by the Cologne architect Alfred Müller-Grah.
The Schauspielhaus Köln at Offenbachplatz was built in 1962 in post-war modernist style and has been closed for renovation since 2015 — the drama section currently performs in alternative venues.
At a glance
- Type
- Theatre
- Location
- Cologne, Germany
- Address
- Schanzenstraße
More venues in Cologne
- Oper Köln · Opera house, Cologne
More venues in Germany
- Aalto-Theater · Opera house, Essen
- Admiralspalast · Musical theatre, Berlin
- Alte Oper Frankfurt · Concert hall, Frankfurt am Main
- Altonaer Theater · Theatre, Hamburg
- Anhaltisches Theater Dessau · Multi-genre theatre, Dessau
- Ballhaus Naunynstraße · Theatre, Berlin
- Bar jeder Vernunft · Theatre, Berlin
- Bayerische Staatsoper · Opera house, Munich
- Bayreuther Festspielhaus · Opera house, Bayreuth