Andreas Gryphius Theatre in Głogów

About

The Andreas Gryphius Theatre in Głogów - a classical theater building located in Głogów, in the central part of the Old Town, next to the town hall. It was built in 1799 according to the design by Christian Valentin Schultze as the seat of a multi-department theater, offering several stage genres at once. The theater operated in the building almost until the end of World War II, when the edifice, along with the entire town, was destroyed as a result of the Soviet offensive on Głogów. In the following decades, different concepts of rebuilding the Głogów theater were proposed, but none of them was implemented. Eventually, the building was rebuilt to its pre-destruction condition in 2017–2019 to house a branch of the Municipal Cultural Center and at the same time host concerts and performances, as well as conferences.

In the second half of the 18th century, the idea of building separate rooms for theatrical performances grew in Silesian cities. At the end of that century, many cities established associations promoting theatrical culture, the so-called Theaterbetrieb, which inspired the construction or adaptation of rooms for theatrical performances and concerts. The directors of travelling theater troupes also strove to abandon touring in favour of staging their performances during the main season, if possible, in one location. At that time, Glogau did not have suitable premises for theatrical performances. The performances were usually held in the redoubt room of the building erected between 1774 and 1775 on the site of demolished town benches. However, the redoubt room had modest possibilities of accommodation. At the beginning of 1798, Johann Faller, a theater director, came to Glogau from Jawor (Jauer) with the intention of obtaining a special concession for performances. He also made efforts to establish a permanent stage in the town. The redoubt chamber was too small for that purpose and the considered reconstruction of the town salt storehouse was too expensive. At the end of November 1798, the head of the building department at the Głogów War and Dominion Office, Christian Valentin Schultze, came up with his own proposal. The proposal envisaged building a new floor over the redoubt hall and using it as a separate room for theater purposes. Schultze argued that in view of the danger of the collapse of the roof trusses there, remedial measures would have to be taken soon anyway, so the project would be financially beneficial. In a letter dated January 11, 1799, Schultze presented the project and cost estimate for the construction. His estimate included the addition of a low floor, construction of new chimneys, supporting the western façade with buttresses and the eastern one with a massive risalit. He also proposed a new architectural design of the facades in the Classicist style based on architectural models from Potsdam and Berlin. He estimated the cost of the works at 2,000 thalers. Schultze's plans found support in the War and Dominion Office, which on February 2, 1799, reported immediate readiness to provide construction workers. The work, which was directed by Schultze himself, began in April 1799[7]. As early as December the reconstruction was completed. It was carried out in its entirety, although it exceeded the planned costs quite considerably. In the early 19th century Glogau was the second Silesian town, after Wrocław (Breslau), to have its own theater. Performances were usually held only in winter seasons. It was a multi-division theater, offering several stage genres simultaneously. From the beginning of its operation until 1933, the theater had a permanent opera and theater ensemble, and from the 1820s, foreign theater and opera troupes also performed there. Beginning in 1870, the opera and operetta ensembles in particular gained in importance. The Głogów theater also staged ballets. Moreover, world-class artists performed on stage. The pianist and composer Ferenc Liszt gave a concert there in March 1843. The first floor of the building was used for meat trading. The original theater room of the Glogau complex was small, tight, and stifling. In 1839, the ceiling between the upstairs rooms and the theater room above was removed, in addition to building a loggia and an amphitheater with a curtain. This resulted in the creation of a large auditorium, thus the building was named as the city theater. In 1859, the staircase from the inside of the building was moved to the outside. In the early 1860s, poet Karl Eduard von Holtei suggested erecting a monument to Andreas Gryphius in Glogau. In 1861, he gave a lecture on the humorous peasant game Die geliebte Dornrose (English: "The Beloved Thorn of the Rose"), the income from which formed the basis of the fund to build the monument. Two years later, a committee made of the Głogów magistrate and the scientific community decided to erect a bust of Gryphius and to place it over the main entrance to the town's theater. On 16 July 1864, the anniversary of Andreas Gryphius's death, a ceremony was held to unveil his bust, made by the sculptor Michaelis from Breslau. In 1867, gas lighting was installed in the theater (it had previously relied on kerosene lighting). In the years 1926–1928, a thorough reconstruction of the building was carried out, which involved demolition of the external staircase and in place of the loggia, a reinforced concrete balcony was built along with a revolving stage. Following the reconstruction, the theater's auditorium had 453 seats.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.