From the "Viennese City Theatre" to a modern venue for major musical productions

Ronacher

Built between 1871 and 1872 by the famous architects Ferdinand Fellner Sr. and Ferdinand Fellner Jr. for a private joint-stock company of the journalist Max Friedländer and the former Burgtheater director Heinrich Laube, the Ronacher was intended as a 'Viennese City Theater' to provide a genuine alternative to the imperial court theaters and to appeal primarily to a bourgeois audience. The opening took place on September 15, 1872, with Friedrich Schiller's 'Demetrius' in an adaptation by Heinrich Laube. 

However, just a few years after its opening, the building was ravaged by fire on May 16, 1884. In 1886, Anton Ronacher purchased the fire-damaged ruins and had a 'Concert and Ball House' constructed again by Ferdinand Fellner Jr. and his partner Hermann Helmer. In 1888, the theater was reopened as ETABLISSEMENT RONACHER. The venue was used as a classical variety theater until the 1930s. For years, performers ranging from acrobats to magicians took the stage – including Josephine Baker, who honored the Ronacher in 1932. 

After the war, the stage served as a substitute for the destroyed Burgtheater and was used as a variety theater again between 1955 and 1960. From 1960 to 1976, the ORF took over the house as a studio and performance space before it gradually fell into obscurity. 

In 1987, the Vereinigten Bühnen Wien took over the house for revitalization purposes and presented it from 1988 to 1990 with CATS, which was transferred from the Theater an der Wien, and two opera premieres. The house underwent a “gentle renovation” and was initially leased. Since autumn 1997, it has been part of the VBW association again and primarily served as a guest venue for international touring productions, a ceremonial event space, and occasionally as a stage for its own productions. 

From 2005 to 2008, a comprehensive functional renovation of the Ronacher was carried out according to the plans of Architektur Consult ZT GmbH under Prof. DI Günther Domenig and DI Gerhard Wallner. The house was reopened on June 30, 2008, with the gala premiere of THE PRODUCERS. 

Today, it is an indispensable part of Vienna’s theater landscape. Since then, international hit musicals such as SISTER ACT, MARY POPPINS, EVITA, BODYGUARD, and THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME have been on the program, complemented by world premieres of VBW’s own productions such as THE VISIT OF THE OLD LADY, DON CAMILLO & PEPPONE, and ROCK ME AMADEUS – THE FALCO MUSICAL. In October 2025, the newest VBW original production celebrated its world premiere here: MARIA THERESIA - THE MUSICAL.