18 May 2022

Open letter: For the preservation of the auditorium of the German National Theatre Weimar

Dear Mr Fechtel,

Preparations are currently underway in Weimar for the renovation of the Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar (DNT). In the wake of the anniversary of the founding of the Weimar Republic one hundred years ago, whose first parliament met in the Weimar Theatre in 1919, the federal government awarded the DNT an unexpectedly large amount of funding for the renovation, which the Free State of Thuringia doubled.

As a result, consideration is now being given to abandoning the listed auditorium of the main building and completely redesigning it. The interior design and furnishings of the auditorium are of very high and convincing quality from the 1970s, and as such are one of the last important examples of GDR modernism in terms of design history.

The conservation goals of 2016 and 2020 justify the value of the room as an outstanding and integrally preserved testimony to the modern theatre hall design of the 1970s. It represents an essential time layer of this architectural monument of national and international significance, which is a remarkable testimony to 20th century German history with all its fractures, distortions and achievements.

Accordingly, this should result in the the preservation of the hall. Certainly, adjustments are necessary and possible, but it should be possible to find suitable compromises. This is already shown by far-advanced plans that were stopped after the federal and state governments awarded the money.

In addition, we call for a change of perspective, as formulated by the Association of German Architects (BDA) in its position paper "House of the Earth": Priority must be given to the preservation of existing buildings over new construction! In view of the advancing climate change, there is widespread agreement in society that a fundamental rethink is needed, especially in the building sector, which is responsible for a third of CO2 emissions and for more than half of the volume of waste. We think so: This postulate must also be put into practice. Particularly in public building projects and especially those of cultural institutions, this must finally be taken seriously.

We, the Board of Directors of the International Heritage Centre of the Bauhaus University Weimar, in agreement with the Thuringian State Council for the Preservation of Monuments (meeting of 3.5.2022) and with numerous other experts, theatre enthusiasts and other actors in Weimar, Thuringia and beyond, call on those responsible for planning to preserve the auditorium in the upcoming DNT renovation and to announce the planning competition accordingly!

The Board of Directors of the International Heritage Centre of the Bauhaus University Weimar

The International Heritage Centre (IHZ) is an association of professors from all faculties of the Bauhaus University Weimar as well as other researchers within and outside the university who are concerned with the research and preservation of the architectural heritage.