The Stone Theater / das Steintheater

At the far end of Hellbrunn Park where there is nothing more than a walking trail through trees, you'll find a sign pointing up forested hillside for Steintheater (Stone Theater). The Steintheater was created for Markus Sittikus, the Prince Archbishop of Salzburg who also built Hellbrunn Palace, and the first opera performance in central Europe took place there in 1617. It is the oldest open-air stage in Europe. As far as we know, it is not a well-known tourist sight, and since neither Peter nor I had ever been there, and the sun was actually shining for a few hours, we headed out on an early morning adventure to see what was there.

The Steintheater is quite an amazing place! Just when you think you've taken a wrong turn, you arrive in a rounded carved-out ampitheater in the rock. A large stone stage lies at one end. A variety of crudely made steps and tunnels wind their way behind the stage, perfect for making entries on stage during a performance. It's hard to believe that this place is not quite 400 years old. It seems much older than that. Also hard to imagine is an opera being performed for important Salzburgers who would have arrived at the bottom of the hill in chariots and wagons way back when! What a great find on one of our last days here!