About the location
The Kronenkino is the oldest sound film cinema in Germany. It opened with silent films in 1912 as an addition to the “Kronenhotel” and “Drei Kronen” tavern owned Otto Petzold. The projectors were powered by gas. In 1928, the Kronenkino was the first cinema in Germany to present a sound film – the short film “The Little Match Girl” had been shown in 1925 in Berlin’s Mozartsaal, but the performance was interrupted by technical difficulties. After standing empty for a number of years, the Kronenkino reopened in 2004 – as the home of the first Neiße Film Festival (NFF), a project made possible by the enthusiastic support of the Kunstbauerkino and the Kulturfabrik as well as the citizens of the region. Since 2009, the building has been associated with the Hillersche Villa, a multi-generational socio-cultural centre owned by the city of Zittau.