Castle Schönbrunn, Theatre

Schlosstheater Schönbrunn

Viena, Austria

The baroque Schlosstheater Schoenbrunn, built during the reign of Empress Maria Theresia, was once used as the home stage of the Habsburgs, on which Haydn and Mozart, and other great composers, conducted their work.

When Napoleon established his headquarters in Schönbrunn, the theatre was renovated. It reopened in 1809 with Racine’s „Phaedra“. At the time of the Congress of Vienna, singers of the Kärntnertor Theatre performed there for the royal majesties then present in Vienna. The theatre was used during the summer months under the reign of Ferdinand I, when the Burgtheater (court theatre) performed mainly comedies.

An electric lighting system was provided for the theatre in 1898, when electricity was introduced into the Palace for the first time. In 1929 the Palace theatre was handed over to the Max‐Reinhardt‐Seminar (Academy for Performing Arts) and since then has been used as a rehearsal stage throughout the academic year, from October to June.