It was fashioned on 14 March 1741 by Habsburg Empress Maria Theresa of Austria to be a theatre next to her palace, and her son, Emperor Joseph II called the “German National Theatre" in 1776. Beginning in 1794, the theatre was called the “K.K. Hoftheater nächst der Burg". The theatre was moved to a new building at the Ringstraße on 14 October 1888 designed by Gottfried Semper and Karl Freiherr von Hasenauer. After it was burned out in 1944, the castle theatre was restored in 1955. The classic Burgtheater style and the Burgtheater German language were trend-setting for German language theaters.



The Burgtheater also known as ‘Burg’ or ‘Haus am Ring’ is situated in Vienna’s first district. The Burgtheater has obtained a world-wide reputation for brilliant dramatic art and is one of the first theaters of German-speaking Europe. Over the years, its theatrical company of more or less regular members has worked out a traditional style and speech characteristic of Burgtheater performances.

While its collection features many international highlights as well, the Burgtheater is proud of its emphasis on Austrian playwrights. Viennese heavyweights Arthur Schnitzler, Ferdinand Raimund or Johann Nestroy are still favorites, Thomas Bernhard used the stage for his notorious scandals and renowned contemporary writers like Elkridge Jelinek and Peter Handke often stage their premiers in Vienna’s Burgtheater.

The company and the audience are always happy to celebrate their stars - actors as well as directors. Claus Peymann, who scandalized Vienna by reformatting the ‘Burg’ and inviting a younger audience by adapting the style and adding contemporary plays to the repertoire, was as much hated as loved by media and audience alike.

Vienna’s Burgtheater was built in the Baroque style, commutating the time when the church, the aristocracy, and the common man were joined together by the theatre. As an institution, the Burg transcends its role as a mere stage. It’s part of the Viennese consciousness; a place to be seen and to see, a one-time plaything of political intrigue and a symbol of Vienna’s rise, fall and rise again from the ashes of war.

As many others buildings in central Vienna it was largely destroyed during the Second World War firstly by bombing, then by fire of unknown origin and reconstruction was needed. It was done between the years 1953 and 1955 and the new Burgtheater building was finally inaugurated on October 15, 1955.

The ceiling of the building is lined with frescoes, and a statue of Apollo stands guard over the main entrance on the Ringstrasse. The interior is the height of opulence, decorated in rich red, cream, and gold with marble floors and paintings of great actors on the walls called Burgtheater Gallery which has the collection of portraits of members of the Burgtheater in the course of its 200-year history.

It now remains one of the world’s most important theaters, a cultural bastion in a city replete with historical significance. The Emperors and dictators are long departed, but the show goes on.