Capitol
Former Cologne cinema on Hohenzollernring, later home to TV shows like 'TV total' and 'The Harald Schmidt Show'.
The building went through several lives — from a 1920s movie palace to a postwar cinema to a television studio — before being demolished in 2018.
Source: Wikipedia
At a Glance
- Type
- former cinema, later television studio
- Location
- Hohenzollernring 79–81, Neustadt-Nord, Cologne-Innenstadt district
- Opened
- February 1929
- Initial seating
- 2,035 (per the Kölnische Zeitung ahead of opening)
- Rebuilt
- 1954, designed by Hans Land
- Closed as a cinema
- 29 September 1995
- Demolished
- 2018, later replaced by the Carré Belge development
Cinema operator Hans Herbert Blatzheim, married to Romy Schneider's mother, witnessed firsthand the rush for tickets to "Sissi" at the Capitol in 1955, a film starring his own stepdaughter.
History Before the War
On this site stood the Kammerspielhaus Deutsches Theater from 1901 to 1928, torn down that summer. Jacob Koerfer built a movie palace here, moving the main entrance from Bismarckstraße 7 to Hohenzollernring. The opening in February 1929 featured the silent film "Pandora's Box" ("Die Büchse der Pandora"). An in-house orchestra played in the pit until March 1930.
After the Second World War
Destroyed during the war, the building was rebuilt in 1954 and reopened on 28 September 1954 with "The Gypsy Baron" ("Der Zigeunerbaron"). The auditorium now measured 32 by 20 meters and seated 1,144. Operator Hans Herbert Blatzheim, married to Romy Schneider's mother, also opened the adjacent Palermo milk bar next door. "Sissi" screened here in December 1955. Capacity dropped to 700 seats by 1990, and the cinema closed in 1995.
Life as a Television Studio
From December 1995, Sat.1 recorded "The Harald Schmidt Show" in the converted building. "Die Wochenshow" followed until December 2000, and ProSieben's "TV total" ran from January 2001 to December 2002. No new use was found afterward; the Capitol closed in 2005 and was demolished in 2018.
Timeline
- 1928Kammerspielhaus Deutsches Theater demolished, new building commissioned
- 1929Opening of Capitol with silent film Die Büchse der Pandora
- 1930First sound film Dreyfus under new operator Phöbus-Emelka
- 1938Antisemitic film Juden ohne Maske shown during November pogroms
- 1939UFA becomes new operator
- 1954Reopening after war destruction with Der Zigeunerbaron
- 1995Cinema closes September 29, from December used as Sat.1 TV studio
- 2018Demolition of Capitol, redevelopment as Carré Belge
Map
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Auto-generated, last verified: 2026-09-12
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