Contemporary design meets the circus legacy
The building was intended to be “the people’s cultural palace” with a banquet hall, billiard room, salons and spaces for circus performers and animals. The old circus venue is located in the center of an inner-city block and is enclosed by a vaulted ceiling of wooden trusses and a domed roof. Through ceremonial arches from the surrounding streets and an outer courtyard with granite sculptures, the flow of the circus cortege is reflected.
In the 1920s, the auditorium was converted into a theater, and after the Second World War it was used as a church for the ELIM congregation. In 1994, the auditorium and foyer were renovated to once again house an open theater space, which was later completed with a proscenium in 2008. Although this renovation was technically successful, it hid many of the original circus features and did not give the theater artists enough flexibility in terms of the ability to vary the design of seating and stage.