Built in 1911, it was an important center for early modern theatre up until the rise of the Nazi party, World War II and afterward when the area became part of Communist-occupied East Germany.

Adolphe Appia, who was then working with Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, and who had been greatly influenced by his studies of Richard Wagner's music and ideas, designed the theater at Hellerau for Dalcroze's school.

[1][4] The summer programmes at the Festspielhaus Hellerau attracted around 5000 international guests, including leaders in the arts such as George Bernard Shaw, Vaslav Nijinsky, and Konstantin Stanislavski.

Taking advantage of the fortifications the Germans had added to the property, the Festspielhaus continued to serve various military functions, first as a hospital and later a barracks.

Roofs were caving in with many parts collapsed completely, the exterior stucco was stained and falling off in places and most of the original furnishings had been stripped.