Deelenhaus

In the location's words:

The eventful history of Paderborn's Deelenhaus

The two houses at Krämerstraße 8 and 10, which today provide a home for culture in Paderborn as the Deelenhaus, were built around 1741. The two houses were used privately until the 1970s, when they were structurally connected, renovated and then became part of the Paderborn Stadtwerke's Rat- und Tathaus.

In 2012, Renate and Gerhard E. Ortner acquired the property from Sparkasse Paderborn, which had set up the building as a seminar venue. Gerhard E. Ortner converted the building so that it could be used as a theater and concert venue from 2013 onwards: The Kleine Bühne Paderborn in the Deelenhaus.

The two artistic directors, Gerhard E. Ortner and Uli Lettermann, deliberately planned a program of versatility as an alternative to the large stage of the established theater in the neighbourhood. The idea was that, believe it or not, anything was possible on stage. From the very beginning, the university showed great interest in cooperation, facilitated by Ulrich Lettermann's work as a lecturer in the Faculty of Cultural Studies/Music. Since then, 100 (seated) to over 200 people (standing) have enjoyed local experimentation and international expertise on the Small Stage. Thanks to the very generous financial and moral support of founder Gerhard E. Ortner, a large audience was attracted in the first three years, enabling the stage to exist largely independently. In addition to classical, experimental and popular music, there were readings, theater, chamber musicals, jazz, world music and improvisation. Thanks to the cooperation with the university, numerous formats and events were developed with students. Graduates of the "Popular Music and Media" course at Paderborn University planned and performed concerts in cooperation with the Kleine Bühne. Before their big breakthrough, "AnnenMayKantereit" and "Von wegen Lisbeth" performed at the Deelenhaus on one(!) evening in 2014. Since then, major regional, national and international artists have found their way to the Kleine Bühne in the Deelenhaus and delighted Paderborn audiences.