Burgtheater Wien Info, Actors, and Location

Burgtheater in Vienna: Austrian National Theatre

Burgtheater in Vienna is one of the finest German speaking stages in the world and one of the most meaningful buildings and institutions in Vienna. Throughout its history it served the function of Austrian primary theatre, first under the Habsburg rule and then in the modern Austrian Republic.

Over time, the locals get used to calling the Burgtheater in a familiar way: die Burg (Burg means castle or fortress, but also often the court in German).

History of Burgtheater

Today’s Burgtheater was founded in 1741 under the reign of Empress Maria Theresia. Its glorious and complicated history includes Habsburg Emperors, premieres of Mozart’s operas, Nazi influence, or heavy bombing. For detailed information about Burgtheater’s history read History of Burgtheater in Vienna.

Present actors in Burgtheater Wien

The ensemble of Burgtheater accounts for about 120 members, including some of the most popular Austrian actors. Together with their predecessors they have a lion’s share on the fact that Burgtheater is unique in many ways. See some of the names below (apologies to those not included here – you all are great!).

Sven-Eric Bechtolf
Klaus Maria Brandauer
Andrea Clausen
Bruno Ganz
Karlheinz Hackl
Gertraud Jesserer
Ignaz Kirchner
Susanne Lothar
Michael Maertens
Tamara Metelka
Birgit Minichmayr
Nicholas Ofczarek
Elisabeth Orth
Hedwig Pistorius
Peter Simonischek
Franz Tscherne
Ulrich Tukur
Gusti Wolf (honourable member)
Heinz Zuber

The present director of Burgtheater Wien is Matthias Hartmann (since 2009).

Past actors in Burgtheater and honourable members

Brilliant actors appeared on the stage regularly in the past too. Some of the best known were:

Max Devrient
Annemarie Düringer (honourable member)
Ludwig Gabillon
Zerline Gabillon
Wolfgang Gasser (honourable member)
Michael Heltau (honourable member)
Attila Hörbiger
Paul Hörbiger
Josef Kainz
Josef Lewinsky
Fritz Muliar
Joseph Schreyvogel
Heinrich Schweiger (honourable member)
Adolf von Sonnenthal
Paula Wessely
Charlotte Wolter

Burgtheater building location

The building of Burgtheater was completed in 1888. It was designed by the architects Gottfried Semper and Karl Freiherr von Hasenauer, also the authors of Kunsthistorisches Museum, Naturhistorisches Museum, and the New Hofburg in Vienna.

Burgtheater building is located in the very centre of Vienna at the Ringstrasse facing the Rathaus (City Hall). There are two parks adjacent to it, namely the Volksgarten and Rathauspark. Burgtheater is also very close to Hofburg, the Austrian Parliament, and Vienna University.

Getting to Burgtheater

The easiest access to Burgtheater is by tram or U-Bahn (metro). Nearby metro stations are Herrengasse (U3), Rathaus (U2), or Volkstheater (U2 and U3). The closest tram stop is Stadiongasse/Parlament.

More information and contact

Burgtheater Wien, Dr. Karl Lueger Ring 2, A-1010 Wien

Phone (information service): + 43 1 51444 4140

Website (Burgtheater program and ticket information): www.burgtheater.at