Royal Theater Heerlen
Encyclopedia
Situated close to the Heerlen
train station
, this egg shaped building dates back to 1938 and is one of the oldest still used cinemas of the Netherlands. It was designed by Frits Peutz
(best known for the Glaspaleis
) and J. Bongaerts. The buildings behind it are from a later date and include another building by Peutz (Rivoli, 1958).
It originally had 1180 seats (some sources say 814, but 1180 is more likely); this amount was later reduced by almost half for more leg room, leaving 743 seats).
company, decided to start a traveling cinema
besides his other attractions. He stopped running the cinema, however, to concentrate on his funfair attractions. Twenty years later he left his company to his sons Alexander, Max and Mathieu. They saw little profit in running a funfair company and, in 1931, switched to running cinemas for good. In 1932 they built their first cinema, a huge success, in Roermond
. Heerlen
, a booming mine city, seemed a good place to run another cinema, although there were already a substantial number of cinemas in downtown Heerlen (Stadschouwburg, Hollandia, and Universal), but since they all belonged to the same owner (Verenigde Bioscoop-Theaters te Heerlen-Hoensbroek, a company owned by Erwin Hirschberg and his brother Curt ) the Nederlands Bioscoopbond allowed a new cinema in Heerlen.
While the Hollandia theater was being renovated the building of the Royal started; the Royal has to become the most beautiful and biggest cinema in Limburg
. After a building period of 100 days, the Royal Theater opened its doors on January 29, 1938 and surpassed the Hollandia Theater, which had reopened two weeks earlier, in size.
Heerlen
Heerlen is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. The municipality is the second largest in the province of Limburg. It forms part of Parkstad Limburg, , an agglomeration of about 220,000 inhabitants.After its early Roman beginnings and a rather modest medieval period, Heerlen...
train station
Train station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
, this egg shaped building dates back to 1938 and is one of the oldest still used cinemas of the Netherlands. It was designed by Frits Peutz
Frits Peutz
F.P.J. Peutz was a Dutch architect.Peutz was born in a Catholic family in Uithuizen in Groningen, a mostly Protestant province in the north of the Netherlands. In 1910 he was sent to the Rolduc boarding school in Kerkrade in the Catholic province of Limburg for his higher education. In 1914 he...
(best known for the Glaspaleis
Glaspaleis
The Glaspaleis is a modernist building in Heerlen, Netherlands, built in 1935. Formerly a fashion house and department store, Schunck, it is now the cultural centre of the city...
) and J. Bongaerts. The buildings behind it are from a later date and include another building by Peutz (Rivoli, 1958).
It originally had 1180 seats (some sources say 814, but 1180 is more likely); this amount was later reduced by almost half for more leg room, leaving 743 seats).
History
In 1903 Laurentius van Bergen, who ran a funfairFunfair
A funfair or simply "fair" is a small to medium sized travelling show primarily composed of stalls and other amusements. Larger fairs such as the permanent fairs of cities and seaside resorts might be called a fairground, although technically this should refer to the land where a fair is...
company, decided to start a traveling cinema
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
besides his other attractions. He stopped running the cinema, however, to concentrate on his funfair attractions. Twenty years later he left his company to his sons Alexander, Max and Mathieu. They saw little profit in running a funfair company and, in 1931, switched to running cinemas for good. In 1932 they built their first cinema, a huge success, in Roermond
Roermond
Roermond is a city, a municipality, and a diocese in the southeastern part of the Netherlands.The city of Roermond is a historically important town, on the lower Roer at the east bank of the Meuse river. It received city rights in 1231...
. Heerlen
Heerlen
Heerlen is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. The municipality is the second largest in the province of Limburg. It forms part of Parkstad Limburg, , an agglomeration of about 220,000 inhabitants.After its early Roman beginnings and a rather modest medieval period, Heerlen...
, a booming mine city, seemed a good place to run another cinema, although there were already a substantial number of cinemas in downtown Heerlen (Stadschouwburg, Hollandia, and Universal), but since they all belonged to the same owner (Verenigde Bioscoop-Theaters te Heerlen-Hoensbroek, a company owned by Erwin Hirschberg and his brother Curt ) the Nederlands Bioscoopbond allowed a new cinema in Heerlen.
While the Hollandia theater was being renovated the building of the Royal started; the Royal has to become the most beautiful and biggest cinema in Limburg
Limburg (Netherlands)
Limburg is the southernmost of the twelve provinces of the Netherlands. It is located in the southeastern part of the country and bordered by the province of Gelderland to the north, Germany to the east, Belgium to the south and part of the west, andthe Dutch province of North Brabant partly to...
. After a building period of 100 days, the Royal Theater opened its doors on January 29, 1938 and surpassed the Hollandia Theater, which had reopened two weeks earlier, in size.