About this place
Standing on the leafy Opernplatz just steps from the bustle of Kröpcke, the Hanover State Opera House was built between 1845 and 1852 to designs by the royal court architect Georg Ludwig Friedrich Laves. With its temple-like colonnade, crowning statues and severe classical symmetry, it embodied the cultural ambitions of the Kingdom of Hanover at its height. Gutted by fire during the wartime air raids of 1943, the building was faithfully reconstructed after the war and reopened in 1950. Today it is the flagship venue of the Staatstheater Hannover, home to the state opera, ballet and orchestra, and its roughly 1,200-seat auditorium remains one of the most respected in the country.
Key facts
- 1852 year — Completed after seven years of construction under court architect Laves
- 1200 seats — Capacity of the main auditorium, among Germany's most important stages
- 1943 year — Gutted by fire in a wartime air raid before its faithful rebuilding
📍 Opernplatz 1, 30159, Hannover