Silesian Theatre
The Silesian Theatre ( Teatr Slaski in. Stanisław Wyspiańskiego ) is the Municipal Theater, one of the main attractions of the city of Katowice in Poland, as well as the largest theater and one of the region 's most important cultural institutions. It occupies a central place in the middle of the Katowice city center on a ring.
History
Katowice is a young city that developed as a result of industrialization and 1865 received its town charter. Given the increasing importance and population growth of the city were early efforts to build a theater. There was a sponsor organization that raised funds for the building, which had to be funded but generous of the city administration. 1905, started to plans by the Cologne architect Carl Moritz, who had already gained experience in theater plans with the construction work. As a building site you chose the ring or the former Friedrich square and crack for the new building, the old, simple brick town hall from. Structurally seen the theater is attributable to the neoclassicism, with strong echoes of Modernism, but also elements of Art Nouveau are available. At this time, Katowice had the 35,000 inhabitants, Carl Moritz, however, created a disproportionately large theater with 410 seats, which would have fit with its cultural offerings and with its architecture, and impressive size in a big city.
On October 2, 1907 was the grand opening of the city theater, contemporary also called Deutsches Theater. In his opening speech, said Mayor Alexander Pohlmann, the municipal theater should be a proud and invincible bulwark against the hostile Polish life. This chauvinist sentence expressed the purpose of this building in an exaggerated manner. Like the stone Banner " the German words and German Art" announced on the gable, the theater should on the one hand promote German cultural life throughout the region and promote the German language, but on the other hand also be a symbol of the new, coined by the German city. In fact Katowice had indeed a clear German majority population in rural surroundings on the other hand, the situation was different.
This city theater in which appeared many famous actors and others began their careers, Katowice became the cultural capital of the Upper Silesian industrial district. As Katowice in 1922 fell to Poland, the theater was indeed renamed in Polish Theatre, the minorities agreement pledged Poland, however, maintain the cultural life of the Germans, which is why there was still a German theater community, which was played by German stage from Upper Silesia, but also from other parts of Germany. On the other hand, should the theater as in German times, but this time the other way around, meet Polonisierungsmaßnahmen. The old German inscription was removed as well as in the 1930s showed the two monumental Jugenstilreliefs on the sides of the pediment, representing scenes from the Nibelungen saga. In 1936 the theater the name of the Polish playwright and painter Stanisław Wyspiański, which was attached after the Second World War on the gable, and was the scene of numerous opera performances. During the German occupation in World War II was at the theater a plaque with the old saying " the German word - German Art" attached, which should underpin the racist ideology of the Nazis.
In the postwar period and in communist Poland the remaining architectural decorations of the theater disappeared (including the portals), and the facade was given a plain plaster. In 2000, renovations were completed, who restored the old plaster and the portals, of which the remains could be used. Further still adorn three reliefs of dance, music and literature, the façade of the theater.
More recently, in addition to theater productions were also exhibitions on theater, hosted musical performances and literary events. So found in September 1996 in the theater " Günter Grass Days", in which numerous well-known translator of Polish and German literature took part.