The Mecklenburg State Theater is a six-part theater in the state capital of Schwerin. In addition to numerous new productions, the theater has hosted the annual Schwerin Castle Festival since 1993 with up to 70,000 visitors. In 2016, the Mecklenburgisches Staatstheater Schwerin and the Mecklenburgisches Landestheater Parchim merged to form today's Mecklenburgisches Staatstheater GmbH.

The main auditorium seats 650 spectators and is used to stage plays, operas, musical theater and ballet. The total annual attendance is around 180,000 people. Each year, the theater stages up to 30 new productions in various genres at both locations. The theater is recognized far beyond the region as a cultural beacon.

The history of the theater dates back to 1563, when Duke Johann Albrecht I of Mecklenburg commissioned the founding of the court chapel. The Academie der Schönemannschen Gesellschaft, named after its founder Johann Friedrich Schönemann, the first German actors' academy, was also formed there in 1753.

The Schauspielhaus burned down on the night of April 23, 1831. The new court theater in Schwerin, designed by master builder Georg Adolf Demmler, was inaugurated in 1836. In 1840, the Second North German Music Festival was held here under the direction of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. However, this theater also burned down during a performance in April 1882. After five years of construction, the Grand Ducal Court Theater was able to resume performances in the new building in the Old Garden.

In 1926, the theater was renamed the Mecklenburg State Theater. Performances continued until August 31, 1944, the day all theaters were closed by the Nazi government. After the Second World War, the theater was able to resume operations immediately in the building, which had been spared from destruction.

Under the direction of Christoph Schroth, the theater became a place of pilgrimage for theater fans who enjoyed challenging productions from 1974 to 1989. Plays by Heiner Müller, Thomas Brasch, Lothar Trolle and Irina Liebmann were shown - plays that were not performed elsewhere in the GDR.

The castle festival has been held every summer since 1993 and the setting was moved from the inner courtyard of Schwerin Castle to the Old Garden in 1999. The previous audience record of over 70,000 visitors was set in 2001 with the Verdi opera Nabucco.

The building has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2024 as part of the Schwerin Residence Ensemble. (Source: Wikipedia)