Lichtburg Ulm

Situated in Ulm, in the south German state of Baden-Württemberg, the Lichtburg (“Light Castle”) opened in 1952 as, primarily, a cinema for the US military.

In around 2010, it was acquired by Roman Sailor and his father Roland, who added it to their ‘art-house’ cinema portfolio in the town, alongside the Obscura and the Mephisto (see separate Cinema Treasures entries).

In 2011 the Lichtburg was renovated and refurbished. But the ageing building continued to cause problems, as I discovered on my visit, on 31st May 2024, when part of the rear stalls of the first floor auditorium was roped off after water started dripping down from the ceiling.

So that visit was rather timely, as the decision had already been taken that the Lichtburg would close on Wednesday 12th June 2024 (the end of the ‘cinema week’ in Germany).

The final film, at 7pm that day, was the 2024 German drama “Sterben”, starring Lars Eidinger and Corinna Harfouch. Its title translates as “Dying”, so this was surely a deliberately ironic choice!

It is unclear whether Café Cinema, operated on the ground floor by Michele Napolitano for the last 13 years, will be affected, although, sadly, the building’s demolition seems inevitable.

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