Kalkberg Stadium

After the Nazis came to power, the quarry was converted into an amphitheatre to be used for mass meetings and multimedia theatrical performances as part of the Thingspiel movement.

[1] The work entailed sealing salt-mining shafts and cavities and bringing in 1,200 tonnes of granite from Silesia as building material, since the anhydrite core of the hill itself is water-soluble.

[2][3] The theatre was dedicated on 10 October 1937 by Joseph Goebbels as the Feierstätte der Nordmark or Nordmark-Feierstätte (Northern March Ceremonial Site);[3][4] in his speech he expressed the wish it would be a "political church of National Socialism".

[2] Immediately after the war, the arena was used amongst other things for boxing[3] and for circus performances, before becoming the site of the Karl May Festival in 1952.

[4] Schaller did not do any further blasting, but used the existing shape of the quarry, so the arena is asymmetrical and has a smaller stage area to one side.