A fire breaks out at the Ringtheater,…
December 1880 CE
A fire breaks out at the Ringtheater, a popular theater in Vienna, shortly before a performance of Les contes d'Hoffmann on December 8, 1881.
The "Ringtheaterbrand" ("Ringtheater Fire") totally destroys the theater, and kills at least three hundred and eighty-four, according to official figures. (The following year, a new law will be passed, regarding the outfitting and safety provisions, including safety curtains, outwards-opening doors and fireproofing of the set).
The Ringtheater had been built between 1872 and 1874 by Heinrich von Förster, following plans by Emil Ritter.
It had opened on January 17, 1874, under the direction of Albin Swoboda, Sr. as an 'Opéra Comique', antithetical to the "seriousness" of the Vienna State Opera, then called the Court Opera ('Hofoper').
However in September 1878, the focus had shifted to spoken plays, German and Italian opera and variety, and the name had been changed to the "Ringtheater".
Given that the footprint of the theater is small—and the theater is intended to hold an audience of seventeen hundred—the architect had been forced to build high, but with disastrous consequences.