The Thingstätte at Bad Segeberg still strongly resembles the way the original one looked. Goebbels, present at the inauguration in 1937, described it as the official political church of national socialism and wrote in his diary: “The Feierstätte (celebration site) is passable. It is not a work of art but nevertheless passable.” This commentary validates the efforts of the architect Fritz Schaller who skillfully integrated the building into the old limestone quarry. In national socialist times in Germany the Thingplatz, which would later be referred to as “Nordmark – Feierstätte” was hardly ever used. Since 1952 the Karl-May-Festspiele, a theatre festival based on the works of the author Karl May, attracts large crowds and takes place there regularly, partly because of the excellent acoustics.
General specifications:
Groundbreaking / Inauguration
29.05.1934 / 10.10.1937
Architect:
Fritz Schaller, Berlin
Historical name / contemporary name
Nordmark- Feierstätte[1] / Kalkbergstadion[2]
Historical Use
| 1938 | So called „Führerthing der Nordmarkjugend“, Führungstreffen HJ/ BDM |
| In the original form | „Die Schlacht der weißen Schiffe“ from Hendrik Herse |
Contemporary use
Concerts: / https://www.kalkberg-events.de/
Interesting Facts:
This thingplatz was part of the official building program and was part of the first 66.
The workers from the Reich‘s worker group used to arrive on bikes from the worker’s site nearby.
[1] Stommer, Rainer, Die inszenierte Volksgemeinschaft, Jonas- Verlag Marburg, 1985, pg. 217 f.
[1] Bosse, Katharina, Thingstätten, Kerber- Verlag, Bielefeld, 2020, pg. 28-30
Bosse, 2020, ibd.
[2] See link „Contemporary use“
[3] Stommer, 1985, ibid.
[4] Bosse, 2020, ibd.