Reval German Theatre
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The Reval German Theater () is an
Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...
theater building in
Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...
,
Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...
, which opened in 1910. It was formerly known as Revaler Theater (in
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
) or Tallinna Teater (in
Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...
) in the 19th century, and various other names during the course of its history. Since 1924 it is home to the
Estonian Drama Theatre The Estonian Drama Theatre () is a theatre in Tallinn, Estonia. It has the role of a national theatre for Estonia. The Estonia Theatre is located next door. History The building that houses the Estonian Drama Theatre was originally built for the ...
.


History

The theater was the second theater building and the first professional
theater company Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communicat ...
in the city of Tallinn (then called Reval), founded in 1795. The theater was built to replace the first theater in Tallinn, the Revaler Liebhaber Theater (1784–1792). It was used by the German language amateur dramatic society (founded 1784), which performed German language drama and opera under
August von Kotzebue August Friedrich Ferdinand von Kotzebue (, ; – ) was a German playwright, who had also worked as a Russian diplomat. In 1817, one of Kotzebue's books was burned during the Wartburg festival. He was murdered in 1819 by Karl Ludwig Sand, a ...
. In 1809 it was made a professional theater with professional German language actors, which made it the first professional theater in Tallinn, and was named (German) Revaler Theater or (Estonian) Tallinna Teater from 1809 to 1860. It was named (Estonian) Tallinna Linnateater or (German) Revaler Stadttheater in 1860–1910; and Tallinna saksa teater in 1910–1939. In 1939, the theater was closed and moved to
occupied Poland ' (Norwegian language, Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV 2 (Norway), TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. ...
by the order of the German government under the Nazis.Hallas-Murula, Karin. Eesti Draamateater. Ehituslugu ja arhitektuur. – Eesti Draamateatri Maja 100. Tallinn : Eesti Draamateater, 2010.


Present use

The Reval German Theater building is now used by the
Estonian Drama Theatre The Estonian Drama Theatre () is a theatre in Tallinn, Estonia. It has the role of a national theatre for Estonia. The Estonia Theatre is located next door. History The building that houses the Estonian Drama Theatre was originally built for the ...
.


References

{{Reflist 19th-century establishments in Estonia History of Tallinn Theatres in Tallinn