Salzburger Marionettentheater

Salzburg Marionette Theatre, founded in 1913, is one of the world’s oldest continuously operating marionette theaters. It is headquartered in Salzburg, Austria. Live actors and musicians were used in original shows. Soundtracks are now recorded. The Salzburg Marionette Theatre uses marionettes to stage a wide range of operas, ballets, and shows for both children and adults.

The Salzburg Marionette Theatre began as the Aicher Family Theatre and has continued to enchant both children and adults to this day. Over 2,600 performances have taken place throughout the world, including Carnegie Hall.

The building on Schwarzstraße between the Landestheater and the Mozarteum, where the Salzburg Marionette Theater has had its permanent home since 1971, was built in 1891 as a “restoration and hall building” by the Count’s Arco-Zinnebergische brewery in Kaltenhausen (architect: Carl Demel, master builder: Valentin Ceconi ).

The structure was renovated into the Hotel Mirabell in 1897, where writer James Joyce stayed during his five-week summer vacation in Salzburg in 1928. After WWII, a casino was established here until 1968. The previous dining room was turned into an auditorium with a stage during the 1970 renovation to a marionette theater.