Burgtheater Vienna

After the Comédie Francaise, the Burgtheater in Vienna is Europe’s second-oldest theatre. Today, the Burgtheater, originally known as the K. K. Hoftheater nächst der Burg, complete with its three affiliated venues – the Akademietheater, Kasino and Vestibül – and a permanent ensemble of more than 80 actors and actresses, is one of Europe’s largest theatres and plays a seminal role in the German-speaking theatrical world. Every season, the Burgtheater and its affiliated venues welcome approximately 400,000 theatre-goers to some 800 performances.

History

On 14th March 1741, the theatre manager Joseph Selliers was authorised by Empress Maria Theresia to let a vacant banqueting hall next to the Hofburg palace to theatrical companies. In 1776 the Teutsches Nationaltheater, as it was then called, was placed under court administration by royal decree by Maria Theresia’s son Joseph II. This marked the beginning of the heyday of German-language theatre in Vienna. In 1794, the theatre was renamed K.K. Hoftheater nächst der Burg. After 130 years of operation, the company’s new theatre building, designed by Gottfried Semper und Karl Hasenauer, opened its doors on the Ringstraße boulevard on 14th October 1888, after fourteen years of construction. The Burgtheater was the last link in the chain of sumptuous structures built around the Ringstraße, and its magnificent façade has made it one of Vienna’s popular tourist attractions.
In September 1922, the Akademietheater on Lisztstraße was affiliated as an additional stage. During the last days of the Second World War, the Burgtheater was extensively damaged by a bombing raid and a fire of unknown origin, and the company took up temporary residence at the Etablissement Ronacher, a variety theatre. In 1955 the company returned to its home on the Ringstraße which had been restored to its former glory and equipped with up-to-date technology.
Since 2009 Matthias Hartmann is the director of the Burgtheater. He enriched the repertoire of the theatre by introducing the international performance groups Nature Theater of Oklahoma from New York and the Belgian Needcompany , Artists in Residence at the Burgtheater since 2009, to the Viennese public.

The Venues

Burgtheater

The stage of the Burgtheater is one of the biggest theatre stages in the world. The stage portal is 12m wide, the main stage is 28,5m wide, 23m deep and 28m high. At the opening in 1888 the stage technology was already innovatory and has been modernized on many occasions. During the reconstruction after World War II, which was accomplished in 1955, a stage equipment was installed that is still revolutionary today. The revolving stage consists of a rotating cylinder (15m high, 21m diameter) and four hydraulic lifts (12 x 4 m each). With the help of this technical features the scenery can be changed within 40 seconds. It is the biggest automatic and computer controlled stagesystem in Europe.
The Burgtheater auditorium holds 1175 seats, it has standing room for 84 visitors and 12 places for disabled visitors.

Apart from the stage-art the Burgtheater plays an important part in architecture and interior design of the 19th century in Vienna. The magnificent decoration, especially the two imperial staircases painted by Gustav Klimt, his brother Ernst Klimt and their companion Franz Matsch as well as the main foyer and the many statues, busts and paintings of famous writers and actors can be visited during our daily guided tour.
Address: Universitätsring 2, 1010 Wien

Akademietheater

Designed by the architects Fellner & Hellmer and Ludwig Baumann and built between 1911 and 1913, the Akademietheater has been the Burgtheater’s second venue since 1922. After many years of requests from ensemble members of the Burgtheater who wanted a second stage of more intimate dimensions, Max Paulsen succeeded in affiliating the “Theatre of the Academy of Music and the Performing Arts”, for brevity 's sake called Akademietheater, to the Burgtheater as a smaller, second venue. It was inaugurated on September 8, 1922, with a performance of Goethe’s Iphigenia in Tauris. After the Second World War, which the building survived intact, the theatre was re-opened on May 19, 1945, under the direction of Raoul Aslan with Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler. The Akademietheater was refurbished and technically upgraded in 1974 and in 1999.
Address: Lisztstrasse 1, 1030 Wien

Kasino am Schwarzenbergplatz

The Kasino at Schwarzenbergplatz became affiliated as a venue to the Burgtheater in the early 1980s. It was built in 1869 to serve as a residence for the Archduke Ludwig Viktor, youngest brother of the Emperor Franz Joseph. In 1910, Ludwig Viktor offered the building to the “Military Studies and Casino Association”. Today, the Burgtheater makes use of the Kasino’s unorthodox stage layout for special productions and projects.
Address: Am Schwarzenbergplatz 1, 1010 Wien

Vestibül at the Burgtheater

The Burgtheater’s smallest venue, the Vestibül, originally designed as an access point for the carriages of the nobility, is situated under the left-hand grand staircase of the Burgtheater. Considered as the Burgtheater’s studio stage, the Vestibül offers a unique and compact setting for unusual theatrical projects.
Adresse: Universitätsring 2, Entrance Ringstrasse Landtmannseite, 1010 Wien

Ticket Sale

General Information

The programme is published on www.burgtheater.at on the 1st of each month for the following month. The Burgtheater and all Venues are closed during July and August, daily guided tours in summer start at 3 p.m. in the hall of the main entrance inside the Burgtheater.
All plays and performances are in German language, if not indicated otherwise.

Ticket sale & information

Beginning on the 20th of each month, the ticket sales start for the following month. (e.g. the ticket sale for Novemer starts on the 20th of october).

Ticket Prices:
Burgtheater & Akademietheater: EUR 5 / 8 / 12 / 19 / 27 / 35 / 43 / 51
Standing room EUR 2,50

Kasino: EUR 25,-
Reduced tickets EUR 8,-

Vestibül: EUR 15,-
Reduced tickets EUR 8,-

Online ticket sale: www.burgtheater.at or www.culturall.com

Telephone ticket sale with credit card: +43 1 513 1 513
(all credit cards accepted)

Ticket Offices:
Bundestheater ticket office
Phone: +43 (0)1 51444-7880
Operngasse 2, 1010 Wien

Burgtheater ticket office
Phone: +43 (0)1 51444-4440
Universitätsring 2, 1010 Wien

Volksoper Wien ticket office
Tel.: +43 (0)1 51444-3318
Währinger Straße 78, 1090 Wien,

Last Minute and Reduced Ticket
For designated performances: one hour prior to the performance all remaining tickets can be bought 25% off the full price (as marked on the online-schedule or at the box office, except matinees and special events).
Reduced tickets for 8€ are available at the ticket offices for students, apprentices and unemployed (necessary identity card)

Guided Tours

Our guided tour promises you an extraordinary insight into the amazing technology, architecture, organization and history of this world-renowned theatre. The tour inclu¬des the grand staircases with famous paintings by Franz Matsch and the brothers Gustav and Ernst Klimt, the sculpture collection with busts of renowned playwrights, including Hauptmann, Schnitzler, Raimund, and Nestroy, the new portrait gallery featuring portraits of eminent contemporary Austrian actors and the technical facilities of Europe’s largest theatre.

A special tour on Gustav Klimt at the Burgtheater additionally includes a visit of the newly opened “Angelika Prokopp Foyer-Klimtraum“ with invaluable drawings made in preparation for the ceiling paintings at the Burgtheater’s grand staircase.

Guided Tour „Burgtheater – behind the scenes“
Monday-Thursday: 3 p.m. in German with English summary
Friday – Sunday: 3 p.m. German and English
(September to June)

Guided Tour „Gustav Klimt – main staircases and Angelika Prokopp Foyer“
Friday – Sunday: 2 p.m.
in German with English summary
(September to June)

Guided Tours in July and August 2011
Combined Guided Tour "Burgtheater - History " including "Gustav Klimt - main staircases and Angelika Prokopp Foyer"
Everyday at 3 p.m. in German and English

Meeting Point: In the Hall at the main entrance
Duration: 1 hour
No registration required

Admission:
Adults EUR 5,50 | Seniors EUR 4,50
Students EUR 2,- | Children EUR 2,-