Capitol Theatre

The Velodrome, built in 1898 by Regensburg bicycle and car dealer Simon Oberdorfer, fulfilled the civilian desire for a large, modern event hall for meetings, parties and concerts. The original contractor and owner, Simon Oberdorfer, who was known as a lover of cycling in Regensburg and as a master cyclist in various places in Germany, initially pursued the intention of opening a cycling track for Regensburg with his Velodrome.

Some of these original installations include a steel roof construction being striking for the time. Now visible again thanks to the renovation, the bold elegance of the steel construction can be seen, which spans the entire width of the building of 25 meters and gave the room a pleasant height.

After just a few years, the venue had established itself as the “largest and most beautiful entertainment establishment in town” with theatre variety shows, balls, and even circus events. With this colorful business for Regensburg residents of all ages, the Velodrome and Simon Oberdorfer maintained their presence in the city until well after World War I. The first films, which appeared at the beginning of the 19th century, were also shown in the Velodrome in order to offer citizens a promising new entertainment option, which ultimately gave the Velodrome a new name in October 1929, known as the Capitol Theatre. And since then, the building was used purely as a 900-seat kino.

From the very beginning, there was no in-house orchestra. This made the Regensburg building more courageous than comparable new openings in the big cities, which did not yet really trust the sound film and continued to rely on silent films. At the same time, then-operator Adolf Engl of Munich acquired the Kristall-Palast Theatre in Furth and had already run theatres in other Bavarian cities.

With the arrival of the National Socialists, a very sad story began to arise about the venue and its founder. In the Velodrome, the program was reduced to homeland, love and war films, and Simon Oberdorfer and his family suffered the tragedy of the Jewish fate. After it was confiscated by the Americans after World War II, it was reopened to the civilian population on August 19, 1949, and a major renovation took place four years later in 1953.

The Capitol Theatre retained its function as a movie theatre until 1974 when it was closed due to its dilapidated state. The building was then renovated led by the Velodrome Association and the efforts of its current owner Oswald Zitzelsberger, and equipped to meet the needs of a modern venue.

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