200 years in stories and moments...

Temporary exhibition
Bravo! Bravissimo! 200 years of Theater Aachen
06.09.2025 - 12.04.2026
Opening: Fri 05.09., 19.00 h

With historical objects and documents as well as videos and audio samples, the exhibition "Bravo! Bravissimo! 200 Years of Theater Aachen" presents snapshots from the world of municipal theater over the last two centuries.

To mark the anniversary, exhibition curator Viktoria Walmrath takes a look behind the scenes at the Centre Charlemagne, but also talks about what's happening on the stages of the building. What was particularly well received? What challenges were there? What happened at Theater Aachen during the National Socialist era and how was the reconstruction after the almost complete destruction of the war? The result is an overall view of facts and moments that plays with different time levels and provides a glimpse into the past, present and future of Theater Aachen.

Head of Cultural Affairs Heinrich Brötz is delighted: "It's good that this exhibition in the Aachen City Museum has built a bridge to the Aachen City Theater - both places of social understanding. Created by citizens, it is still the case today that the theater needs urban society, which in turn needs the theater." 

Elena Tzavara, General Director of Theater Aachen, remembers the collaboration: "We discovered great treasures in our cupboards while preparing the exhibition and now know so much more about the history of the theater. This has really inspired us in terms of collaborations and topics that we want to address. For us, looking back has been a huge boost for the future."

The old comedy house has had its day...

The exhibition traces the path of theater in Aachen: How did it all begin? Where was theater performed in Aachen in the early 19th century? The old Komödienhaus was Aachen's first permanent theater and one of the first municipal theater buildings in Germany. Originating from a former cloth hall, it was located on the same site where the Centre Charlemagne stands today. Until the opening of the new Schauspielhaus in 1825, plays were performed in the building on Katschhof.

Dr. Frank Pohle, Director of the Route Charlemagne, explains: "With the upswing in Aachen's bathing trade and the corresponding demand for evening entertainment, there was also movement on the subject of the theater. However, when the theater building was erected in 1825, the model was still the same: the house was rented out to traveling troupes. A permanent ensemble did not exist until much later."

It takes two architects...

After many years of planning, the recurring efforts to erect a new theater building culminated in the realization of the design by state building inspector Johann Peter Cremer. After some conceptual changes to the front of the building by the Berlin chief building inspector Karl Friedrich Schinkel, the foundation stone was ceremoniously laid on November 16, 1822. The prehistory, ideas for the creation of the theater and the history of the building are just as much topics of the exhibition as questions about artistic developments on the stage and political changes in the conditions behind the stage.

Modern trends at Theater Aachen...

The avant-garde also found its way to Aachen. In the late 1920s, ballet mistress Gertrud Steinweg, together with Ellen von Frankenberg, established a very modern form of expressive dance on the Aachen stage. On a musical level, Alban Berg's opera "Wozzeck" set modern accents in the early 1930s. Berg's personal visit underscored this milestone in theater history.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalog published by Wienand-Verlag.

Guided tours of the exhibition

Public guided tours
every Sunday at 3 p.m.
Meeting point: museum ticket office / museum admission plus 3.00 euros

Guided tours in the morning
on 02.10.2025 / 04.12.2025 / 05.02.2026 / 02.04.2026
at 11.00 a.m.
Meeting point: museum ticket office / museum admission plus 3.00 euros

Individual guided tours
can be booked with the Aachen Museum Service
Service times: Tue - Fri 09.00 - 14.00,
Tel.: +49 241 432-4998
museumsdienst@mail.aachen.de