Schauburg Dortmund

In the location's words:

The history of the Schauburg began in 1912 as one of the first permanent movie theaters. First the cinema bore the title Corso-Lichtspiele, then "Kammerspiele".

In 1921, this finally changed to the now familiar name "Schauburg". Many great films were shown in this house at that time, and until the Second World War it was one of the first addresses in the city of Dortmund when it came to cinematic art.

In 1944, the building was almost completely destroyed in an air raid, but was rebuilt as quickly as possible and provisionally reopened as the first cinema in Dortmund as early as the summer of 1945. The official reopening took place in 1948 with the premiere of the last film of the great actress Greta Garbo, "The Woman with Two Faces". In the mid-1970s, the name was changed to the small cinema "Cinema" and the cinema was re-divided.

The two auditoriums known to this day were created, with the smaller, upper auditorium II being created from the former balcony and an additional projection room in the lower auditorium I being created in the former box.

A further renovation took place in 1990, and the Schauburg was given its present appearance in 2002 and 2003 with the re-seating of the two halls. These currently have 159 and 101 seats respectively.

Finally, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary in 2012, which was celebrated with a festival of special events lasting several days, it was possible to take the step from the analog projection with film reels, which had been common for decades, into today's digital age. Since then, films have been presented at the Schauburg in the best possible contemporary quality using Sony 4K technology. The Schauburg also has a Datasat 7.1 digital sound system.

The program is a colorful mix of arthouse and mainstream films.

The Schauburg also participates in special events such as the International Women's Film Festival Dortmund/Cologne, the School Cinema Weeks NRW or the WDR Film Night, as part of the Dortmund DEW21 Museum Night. In addition to its own events, such as the Cinema 50+ and the Poster Flea Market, there are also regular screenings by young filmmakers, as well as events organized by external companies and associations.

We would also like to mention some of the many live events with well-known artists who have been our guests in recent years. Among others: Aaron Hypnose, Dave Davis, Toto & Harry, Fatih Çevikkollu, Marek Fis, Prof. Metin Tolan & Wolfgang Hohlbein.

The premiere of the fourth Dortmund Tatort "Auf ewig Dein" in January 2014 was also a special highlight. Present were the actors, the production team and almost 400 guests in three sold-out performances.

In the February 2012 issue of the "Prinz Ruhrgebiet" magazine, the "Schauburg" achieved second place in the test of the most popular cinemas of Dortmund and Essen. In a survey of the Ruhr Nachrichten for the most popular cinema in 2016, we even reached the first place. We are looking forward to the future!