Haus der Berliner Festspiele

Founded in 1951 with financing from the Western Allies, the Berliner Festspiele was established in connection with Berlin’s International Film Festival (now the Berlinale) to bridge post-Cold War division with its cultural offerings. Its popular annual festivals and cultural programs boost young artists and authors, as well as those already internationally established, and have earned it a reputation for stimulating and eclectic programming. In addition to its literary, musical and theater festivals, the Berliner Festspiele also manages exhibitions at the Martin Gropius Bau and organizes the Berlin Lectures, a cold-weather series of discussions on contemporary topics by philosophers, artists, scientists, and politicians.

In 2001 the Berliner Festspiele moved to its current location, originally designed by Berlin architect Fritz Bornemann—onetime student of Hans Poelzig—for the Freie Volksbühne. First opened in 1963 and renovated shortly before the Berliner Festspiele moved in, the building is a icon of Post-war Modernism, its boxy, two-story structure clad in expansive glass facades and placed in a garden landscape. The main theatre can seat over a thousand audience members and, true to its creator’s democratic ideals, provides an exquisite view of the stage from every direction.