Tazzelwurm (Varieté)
Cologne's first variety theatre after World War II: carnival revues in one of the few larger halls left standing in the devastated city.
The parish of Herz-Jesu church made the premises available for the stage in 1945. Out of this grew a house of entertainment and carnival festivities, which some years later became a cinema.
Source: Wikipedia
At a glance
- Type
- Variety theatre
- Address
- Zülpicher Straße 34
- Location
- Südstadt, Innenstadt district
- Distinction
- Cologne's first variety theatre after World War II
- Later use
- Cinema ("Tazzelwurm-Lichtspiele", later "Bali-Theater")
After World War II, the Tazzelwurm Theater was Cologne's first variety theater, occupying one of the few larger surviving halls in the largely destroyed postwar city – premises made available in 1945 by the parish of Herz-Jesu-Kirche.
A hall amid the ruins of Cologne
In postwar Cologne the city lay largely in ruins, and few larger halls remained. This was one of the rare survivors of the war. The theatre was founded by Robert Baums, who received official permission to run the entertainment venue three years after the premises were handed over — only after he had gone through denazification.
Carnival on stage
As early as November 1945, the first carnival revue was staged here. In the 1946/47 season, well-known Cologne figures from comedy and music took to the stage, among them Grete Fluss, Jupp Schlösser, and Gerhard Jussenhoven.
From variety theatre to cinema
Just a few years after its founding, the variety theatre came to an end: in 1949 the building was converted into a cinema that carried on the theatre's name. It closed in 1957, and after modernization, new operator Eugen Gerards reopened it as a cinema under a different name.
Timeline
- 1945Robert Baums is given the premises by the Herz-Jesu parish
- November 1945First carnival revue is staged
- 1946/47Local stars perform during the carnival season
- 1948Robert Baums officially permitted to lead the venue after denazification
- 1949Converted into the Tazzelwurm-Lichtspiele cinema
- 1957Initially closed, then reopened as Bali-Theater
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Auto-generated, last verified: 2026-09-24
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