Alte Oper, Opera house and concert hall in Westend, Frankfurt, Germany
Alte Oper is a concert hall in Renaissance style in the Westend district of Frankfurt. The concrete building houses several halls, including the Großer Saal with around 2500 seats and the smaller Mozart-Saal with about 700 seats.
The house opened in 1880 under Emperor Wilhelm I and was considered one of the grandest opera houses in Europe at that time. After the bombing raids of 1944 only the outer facade remained, with rebuilding following in the 1970s with a new interior design.
The building carries the Latin motto 'To the True, the Beautiful, the Good' above its portal, which continues to shape its cultural mission today. Many Frankfurt residents use the forecourt as a meeting point before concerts and also as a quiet place to linger in the middle of the city.
The house is centrally located and easy to reach by public transport, with the main entrance on the south side. The forecourt provides orientation, from there several entrances lead inside with cloakrooms and foyers on different levels.
During the inauguration in 1880 Emperor Wilhelm I said that even Berlin could not afford such a splendid building. This statement turned the house into a symbol of the city's civic pride in the late 19th century.
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