Großes Schauspielhaus

Bezirk Mitte, Germany

Open to visitors

The interior is normally open, possibly ticketed.

Strollie cannot guarantee access — always check before you travel.

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The Großes Schauspielhaus was a revue theatre in Berlin's Mitte district, created in 1919 when architect Hans Poelzig radically transformed a nineteenth-century market hall into an expressionist showpiece for Max Reinhardt's theatrical enterprise. The dramatic expressionist renovation made it a landmark of avant-garde design, though this distinctive character was erased after 1933 when the Nazi regime commandeered the building, stripped its modernist decoration, and renamed it Theater des Volkes. Following World War II, the Soviets reopened it as a variety venue under the name Friedrichstadt-Palast. The original structure stood until its demolition in 1985, though its theatrical legacy persists in the present-day Friedrichstadt-Palast that operates at a different location.