Ballsaal Zur Diele, Germany

Ballsaal Zur Diele is a quaint abandoned ballroom in eastern Germany. It is quite small but full of character. We visited this location during the Summer of 2020, as we travelled within the former GDR in search of ballrooms.

The walls of the ballroom are painted blue. Long-necked flying birds are depicted gliding, and swooping on the upper half of the walls. It is possible that these are cranes, or something similar. Additionally, some of the birds are carrying long, thin ribbons in their beaks. The ribbons trail behind them, fluttering in the wind.

Likewise, the yellow ceiling of Ballsaal Zur Diele also features wonderful rustic wildlife paintings. The ceiling murals are set inside diamond-shaped panels. The ceiling panels feature purple-tinted forest scenes of deer; both doe and stag are represented.

Curtains and optical illusions

The most striking feature of Ballsaal Zur Diele, is the curtained stage. Initially from first glance, the curtains appeared to be highly ornate and multi-layers. At the front there appeared to be emerald green curtains with gold frills, ropes and tassels. Behind this appears to be a yellow curtain featuring some embroidered details.

However, this is a “Trompe l’oeil”; the illusion of three-dimensional objects created by clever painting. By careful application of shades to simulate highlights and shadows, a flat painting can be brought to life.

This ballroom curtain is one of the best examples I have ever seen. Even while standing in the room, the curtain looked like a real multi-part 3D object. At the right-hand side, a tear in the curtain betrays it. A white stage door can be seen through the gap.

Meaning of “Zur Diele”

Two doors flank the ballroom stage. Above the right door “Zur Diele” is written in ornate handwriting. In English, this means “to the hall”. Scratched into the door is “Privot Privot”, indicating the area is private. The door leads up onto the stage, clearly for actors and stage crew.

Subsequently, this left me I was puzzling over the meaning of the “Zur Diele”, which Google Translate spits out as “to the hall”. Curious, but hardly satisfactory. Therefore I decided to ask my favourite German (@strayingtomcat) to assist. He told me that diele may also mean wooden plank, or floorboard. He suggested this may be a reference to the stage floor, which would make sense as the door leads up to the stage.

There is a German theatrical idiom; “Die Bretter die die Welt bedeuten”. The is translated to “the boards that mean the world”. An alternative reading of this is “the stage that is the world”. Interestingly, this is very close to the Shakespearean quote “all the world’s a stage” from the play As You Like It.