The Dortmund police puppet theater has a new home: At its recent meeting, the Scharnhorst district council unanimously approved a joint motion by the SPD and CDU parliamentary groups to allocate the Saalbau Scharnhorst as a venue.

At the end of 2023, the Dortmund police approached local politicians in Scharnhorst with the question of whether the well-known and popular puppet theater could find a new home in the Scharnhorst district. This is because the traditional venue in Westfalenpark will be closed in summer 2024 due to extensive renovation work. In the search for another suitable venue, the Saalbau Scharnhorst has been found. Not only does it offer plenty of space for the young audience, materials and technology, it also has excellent public transport connections.

After the unanimous decision at the meeting on February 6, 2024, the management of the Scharnhorst district council concluded a usage agreement with Dortmund Police. This will initially run from April 1, 2024 to December 31, 2025 and provides for a monthly usage fee of 400 euros. As the Saalbau is therefore no longer available to other users until further notice, District Mayor Andrea Ivo-Feiter held talks with all groups and associations that have used the Saalbau to date in the run-up to the decision.

For the Scharnhorst district council and the Dortmund police, the new venue for the police puppet stage (Verkehrspuppenbühne) is a further building block in the upgrading of Dortmund's north-east. As soon as the conditions for awarding the hall building beyond December 31, 2025 are met, the Scharnhorst district council will offer the Dortmund police an extension of the usage agreement in order to establish the facility permanently in the district.