The Freilichtbühne Mülheim an der Ruhr (Mülheim an der Ruhr Open-Air Theatre) is an open-air amphitheatre in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, built in 1936 as a Nazi Thingplatz. It is the most important open-air theatre in the Rhine-Ruhr region and with 2,000 seats, one of the largest in Germany. Location The theatre is only a few hundred metres from the former centre of Mülheim, now known as the Kirchenhügel (church hill). It was constructed in a former quarry across the street from the old city cemetery, and is within a city park. It has both a large and a small stage. History Construction, use in the Third Reich In the early 1930s, the parks director of Mülheim, Fritz Keßler, was seeking a way to make the former quarry into a park instead of letting it laps into a dump. As a result of the Great Depression, there was not enough money to construct the park until the Volunteer Labour Service made it an unemployment relief project, which reduced the projected cost to the city from 29,800 to 14,100 RM. However, in May 1933 funds ran out and the project was left unfinished. To make up for the loss of funds, Keßler arranged for the footpaths to be finished by city relief recipients, who received extra money each month in payment. Later the same year, the project was taken over by the Reich Labour Service and the open-air theatre was added to the plans in the context of the Thingspiel movement. The theatre was designed by the city itself, and work directed by Erich Schulzke of the parks department. The park opened three years later, the theatre being ceremonially opened with a performance of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream on the small stage on 28 June 1936, a Sunday evening in midsummer. The enthusiasm for the production was strong, and the limit of 3,000 tickets necessitated a repeat performance, scheduled for the following night. The open-air theatres built under the Third Reich as part of the Thingspiel movement were used for community-building and political events as well as traditional theatre. The Mülheim theatre was used, for example, for inductions into the League of German Girls. During wartime, there were no performances and people stripped the theatre of its wooden benches to use as firewood. Modern use After the war, the theatre was eventually repaired and reopened on 30 June 1954 with a