View of the Tonhalle at the rhine embankment, © Düsseldorf Tourismus GmbH

Rhein­halle (Ton­halle)


ce­les­ti­ally mag­ni­fi­cient

At the southern end of the Ehrenhof, you’ll find the Tonhalle Düsseldorf. The impressive cupola (with a gilded star at the top) is a reminder of the fact that the building, originally known as the “Rheinhalle”, and which was completed in 1925/26, was initially used not for events, but as a planetarium. For a long time, this multi-purpose hall was not used mainly for classical concerts; these were held in the “Alte Tonhalle” in the Schadowstrasse until the Second World War. Today’s impressive concert hall, with nearly 2,000 seats, was built at the end of the 1970s. Rock stars great and small could be seen here during the 1960s. Just like the Sartory halls in Cologne or the Grugahalle in Essen, the Rheinhalle was the place to go for Beat fans. Led Zeppelin, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, The Grateful Dead and Leonard Cohen are just a few of the major concerts that were held here. Many of them were sold out long in advance, and fans without tickets gathered in the Ehrenhof to try and hear just a few notes, or at least gain an impression of what was happening on stage. Today, world stars play in the Mitsubishi Electric Hall or the ESPRIT Arena. The Tonhalle now offers mainly classical concerts, jazz and chanson singers. If the doors are open, it’s worth taking a look into the foyer and into the green dome and imagine euphoric rock fans going crazy during the 1960s and 70s in this impressive architectural space.

Further Information:
Ehrenhof 1, 40479 Düsseldorf

www.tonhalle.de

The New Fall Festival in the big concert hall, © Andreas Schiko
The New Fall Festival in the rotunda foyer, © Andreas Schiko