Work and space
From the very beginning Martin Gruber strived to create a space in Birach that promotes and supports high standards in artistic work with international acclaim. Birach regularly hosts theatre plays as well as folk theatre and experimental artistic performances.
Artists from Asia, the USA, South America, Russia and international productions use the rooms with their special ambience for rehearsals before they perform their shows at festivals and on stages worldwide. Naturally the traditional Bavarian cultural events also have been a part of
life in Birach from the start; village festivals, hoagarten and traditional music are all celebrated here.
Birach's newest proud history in martial arts is embodied by Nobuyuki Watanabe who taught Aikido here for 30 successive years. Furthermore workshops include performing arts,
bodywork, martial arts and training in the Talmi-Methode®.
Tian Gebing, Director
PaperTigerTheatre
(Beijing, PR China)
Robert Schuster, Director
KULA-Compagnie (France)
NKT Neues Künstlertheater Berlin
AZDAR Theatre (Kabul, Afghanistan)
Paco Gonzales (Familie Flöz)
Rena Mirecka
(Jerzy Grotowskis Theaterlaboratorium)
Mario Calixto (Afro Dance)
Dudu Tucci (Brasil Power)
Marita Günther (Roy Hart Theatre, London, GB) ZeltEnsembleTheater
Verena Weiss, Choreographer
Nobuyuki Watanabe
8th Dan Aikido
Japan
Dr. Sung Chih Chien
T’ai Chi Ch’uan Master
Taiwan
Zheng Yi, Qi Gong Master
VR China
Lie Foen Tjaeng
Taiwan
William Dub Leigh, founder of Zen Bodytherapy® and Zen Triggerpoint Anatomy®
Prof. Alon Talmi, Functional Integration®
Ph.D. Paul Linden, founder of Being in Movement®
Akinobu Kishi, founder of Seiki Soho
Herta Richter, Breath Therapy
Prof. Dr. Hans Peter Dreitzel, Gestalttherapie
Mona Lisa Boyesen, Ebba Boyesen, HansKim Voet, Biodynamic Psychotherapy
Dr. Fritz Friedl, TCM
Ph.D. Pat Odgen,
Dance Therapy
C. C. Schröder, Psychology
Hochschule für Schauspielkunst „Ernst Busch“, Berlin (Germany)
Mozarteum Salzburg (Austria)
Otto-Falckenberg-Schule, Munich (Germany)
Bayerische Theaterakademie August Everding, Munich (Germany)
Westerwald Oslo School of Arts, Oslo (Norway)
Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst, Stuttgart (Germany)
and its architecture
Birach is a Bavarian listed farm from the 19th century, typically the buildings are arranged around the yard in a horse shoe shape. The renovation was a careful undertaking where only the most ecological and sustainable materials were used in accordance with the strict rules and regulations for listed buildings. The former granary was turned into the guesthouse and the original barn was in such derelict condition that it had to be replaced with a barn from seventy kilometers which was dismantled to be rebuilt brick by brick at Birach.
Its interior refurbishment boasts a gymnasium floor which is perfect for practising martial arts, dance
and other physical training and it has become the perfect venue for stage performances.
In 1997 a new building for the kitchen and communal space was added. In 1998 the grounds were landscaped to blend into the surrounding area.
for the preservation of the value and renewal of rural regions, in the culture and community section in the district of Mühldorf; under the patronage of the Bavarian Minister-President
Mühldorf am Inn District Office;
Commendation in Category C: Listed Buildings
Verdict of the »Architecture in the District« jury, 2007
and its history
Martin Gruber and his family began renovating a ruined farm near Mühldorf in Upper Bavaria in
1985. Today, the 19th century farm is a listed building. At that time, however, after more than
ten years of vacancy, the buildings had been destroyed and the surrounding meadows were
desolate. Reconstruction took much more time and financial resources than originally
anticipated. At the end of 1989, the external construction was completed and friends and
relatives donated trees and shrubs at a big "planting party". At this point, a big thank you to all
the many helpers who stood by us during the first years!
No sooner was the first flat in the main building ready for occupancy in 1987 than the
ZeltEnsembleTheatre came to Birach. Otto Kukla, Crescentia Dünßer and Irene Hartmann had
founded it shortly before. The ZeltEnsemble worked and rehearsed in Birach until 1993,
performing its plays in its own theatre tent on a specially constructed roundabout before going
on tour or to international festivals.
Since the reconstruction of the historic barn, the plays have been performed here. Local and
international theatre productions have experimented, planned and rehearsed in Birach before
they perform on stages large and small around the world. You can find the individual
performances and artists under Art & Theatre.
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