The roots of the Haus der Berliner Festspiele

At the time of the erection of the wall, the West Berlin government commissioned renowned architect Fritz Bornemann to design a new theatre for the Western part of the city. The Theater der Freien Volksbühne opened its doors in 1963, managed by the theatre director Erwin Piscator until his death in 1966. Having held events there since its opening, in 2001 the Berliner Festspiele took it over, renaming it Haus der Berliner Festspiele.

Fritz Bornemann model of the Freie Volksbühne

Architect Fritz Bornemann's scale model of the Freie Volksbühne