Ballhof, Renaissance theatre building in Mitte district, Hannover, Germany.

The Ballhof is a Renaissance building in Hannover's Mitte district, now used as a theatre. Its main hall has a flexible seating layout that can be arranged differently depending on the type of performance.

Duke Georg Wilhelm had the Ballhof built between 1649 and 1664 for festivities and the game of battledore and shuttlecock. In 1664 he gave it to his chamber servant Francesco Maria Capellini, called Stechinelli. Comedians first performed there in 1667, and from 1672 to 1852 it was Hanover's largest event hall. In 1943 the destroyed state theatre ensemble moved in, and the first post-war theatre performance in Hanover took place there in 1946.

The name comes from the ball game Federball played here by the courtly elite after 1664. Today the Ballhof houses the Junge Oper and Junges Schauspiel alongside guest performances, and the square in front hosts open-air concerts such as "Jazz am Ballhof".

The Ballhof sits in central Hannover, in the Mitte district, and is easy to reach on foot from the city centre. Coming a little early gives you time to look around the building before a performance starts.

The Ballhof was built between 1649 and 1664 for Duke Georg Wilhelm as a venue for festivities and for battledore and shuttlecock, a precursor of badminton played by the nobility. In 1664 he gave it to his chamber servant Francesco Maria Capellini, known as Stechinelli.