The facility on the Heiligenberg, which was part of the construction program of the first 66 Thingplätze and was originally designed for 40,000 spectators, ended up being inaugurated with only half of this capacity due to problems during construction. It was a prestigious object of the Nazi regime with Goebbels himself attending the inauguration. The estimated costs of 135,000 Reichsmark rose to 600,000 Reichsmark upon completion. The sound technology features of the Thingstätte were state-of-the-art at the time. ^[1][2]3

Start of construction / inauguration

April 1934 / 06/22/1935

Architect

Hermann Alker, Karlsruhe

Name historical / contemporary

Heidelberger Thingstätte^[3]

Historical use

06/22/1935	Solstice celebrations: Cantata ‘Heiliges Vaterland‘ by Franz Philipp
07/20/1935-         Four additional performances	Reichsfestspiele: ‘Der Weg ins Reich‘ by Kurt Heynicke
1936	Solstice celebrations of the district
1937	Solstice celebrations of the district
07/03/193707/11/1937	‘Der Feldherr und der Fähnrich‘ by Walter Erich Schäfer
09/26/1937	‘Oratorium der Arbeit‘ by Georg Böttcher
1939-        Two performances	‘The Bride of Messina‘ by Friedrich Schiller

^[4][5]

Use Today

No more official events are taking place. Hiking routes, geo-cashing and a restaurant make it a popular destination for visitors. 

Interesting fact: Contrary to today’s repeatedly expressed assumptions there has never been a historical Germanic Thingstätte^[6] on the grounds.

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^[1] Stommer, Rainer, Die inszenierte Volksgemeinschaft, Jonas- Verlag Marburg, 1985, page 103 ff. and page 211

^[2] Dussel, Konrad, Kult oder Komödie? Heidelberger Theater im Nationalsozialismus, presentation on April 24th   2001 in Heidelberg, page 2

^[3] Stommer, page 211

^[4] Stommer, Rainer, Die inszenierte Volksgemeinschaft, Jonas- Verlag Marburg, 1985, page 103 ff. und page 211

^[5] Dussel, Konrad, Kult oder Komödie? Heidelberger Theater im Nationalsozialismus, presentation on April 24th 2001 in Heidelberg, page 2

^[6] Lurz, Meinhold: Die Heidelberger Thingstätte,  Heidelberg, 1975, page 51