The natural stage on the Wachtelberg near Dehnitz

Idea and realisation

On 5 July 1952, a night singing concert was held at the Wachtelberg tower as part of the Dehnitz Song Festival. At 10.30 pm, several choirs gathered and sang together. The 5,000 spectators stood in the makeshift grandstand and were thrilled by this open-air concert. As a result, Rudi Ebert (Wurzen) and Heinz Böhme (Dehnitz) came up with the idea of a natural stage on the Wachtelberg. After drawing up initial plans – the idea was to build a stage in the old quarry on the west side – they approached the owners, the Schmidt family from Dehnitz. They gave the land free of charge. The water that collects at the bottom of the quarry was a problem right from the start. The project is also repeatedly criticised by the local population and farmer Schmidt farmer was urged to withdraw his commitment.

Initially, the Wurzen town council rejected the construction of the natural theatre, citing the local recreation and nature conservation area in the vicinity. An agreement was reached in the course of 1953, when work had already begun: The project became part of the National Development Programme (NAW) in the Wurzen district. The NAW was founded in 1951 by the National Front of the GDR, initially to realise construction projects in East Berlin with voluntary, non-profit and unpaid work. The programme is later extended to the entire country. The land was transferred to the town of Wurzen and the Department of Culture of the district council took over the sponsorship. The project was financed with funds from the district of Wurzen, the district of Leipzig and lottery money.

Choir member Horst Nitschke from Röcknitz, a master builder, drew up the plans and carried out the calculations. For a long time, construction progressed slowly, largely on the choir’s own initiative. The provision of materials, machinery and construction work was requested from local companies (Dehnitz water glass factory, Wurzen carpet factory, Collmen-Böhlitz quartz porphyry factory, MTS Lossa) and their employees. The choirs, led by Rudi Ebert, put in the greatest amount of voluntary labour. Both the town council and individual companies repeatedly failed to honour the agreements. As a result, completion is delayed again and again and is repeatedly on the verge of being completely cancelled. A total of 12,000 hours of voluntary labour were invested.

Opening ceremony

It is mainly thanks to the work of individual choir members and the tireless efforts of Heinz Böhme and Rudi Ebert that the stage was officially opened on 12 June 1954 at 19:30 with a concert by 300 singers from the Dehnitz choir group, the cultural group from the Wurzen carpet factory, the folk choirs from Nischwitz and Altenbach and the Reichsbahn Mens Choir from Wurzen with musical accompaniment under the overall direction of Rudi Ebert in front of 2,400 guests. The inauguration celebrations lasted eight days and were concluded by an ensemble from the Karl Marx University in Leipzig.

Utilisation and problems

In September 1955, work began on the construction of an orchestra pit to enable further performances such as operas and operettas. Concerts, cinema screenings and theatre performances now take place regularly. However, after heavy rainfall, the lower part of the stage repeatedly fills up with water. Pumps are installed to permanently drain the water, but these are regularly damaged or stolen.
The overall social framework for the use of the Naturbühne also changed towards the end of the 1950s (need for car parks and transport links, new cultural interests and opportunities, television).
Finally, the last events were held in 1961 during the town’s 1000th anniversary celebrations before the stage was abandoned. Over the years, wilful destruction became more frequent, building components were removed and nature reclaimed the site.

Captions

  1. – Performance of the Ebert choirs on the natural stage, 1954 © Horst Müller.jpg
  2. – View through the entrance, 12.06.1954 © R. Ebert.JPEG
  3. – Stage with extended orchestra room, 1956 © R. Ebert.JPEG
  4. – The completed natural stage with Wachtelberg tower, 1954 © R.Ebert.JPEG
  5. – The volunteers, 1953 © R. Ebert.JPEG
  6. – The entrance portal and rows of seats, 1953 © R. Ebert.JPEG
  7. – Opening ceremony of the natural stage, 12 June 1954 © R. Ebert.JPEG
  8. – The Tuchscherer family on Bruno Tuchscherer’s 70th birthday. With 2400 hours of work, he provided the greatest voluntary contribution © R. Ebert.JPEG
  9. – Helpers on Good Friday, 1953 © R. Ebert.JPEG
  10. – Programme booklet for the Festival of Song, 1954.jpg