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Thilde Leser as Agnes Bernauer und Fritz Schefbeck as Albrecht. (1935)

Since August 1935 the Agnes Bernauer Festival Association are performed in Straubing. Commemorating the 100^th anniversary of Agnes Bernauer’s death, the teacher and local politician Eugen Hubrich wrote the amateur dramatics “Die Agnes Bernauerin zu Straubing“. Because of the great success the play was performed a second time on a open-air stage in the courtyard of the ducal castle. With the beginning of the second World War in 1939, the festival tradition seemed to have an end.

Hubrich rewrote his work for the festival season in 1952 and it was again a great success.

After the formation of the “Festspielausschuss“ the Agnes Bernauer Festival Association was formed in 1953, wich was constituted in the sorting-depot on the 7^th of March in 1953 and

provided a statutory. According to the “Straubinger Tagblatt“ on the 18^th of March in 1953

the creation of the “Festspielverein“ was welcomed for several reasons: “It offers the guarantee that the high tradition of the festival will be adhered, that the regulars of the other players will be received, accomplished and supplemented, that the fund is properly managed and further developed and that not least compared to the claims of the finance

office the benefit to the public is clearly declared.“

The founder members of the association were:

• Fritz Schefbeck

• Karl Pielsticker jun.

• Willi Lermer

• Rosa Wimmer

• Reinhold Wagensohn

• Lutz Burgmayer

• Robert Traugott

• Marcel Oberneder

Since then, Hubrich’s composure experienced many changes also by well-known theater directors. Nevertheless, it made glad in all the following play years 1954, 1957, 1963, 1968, 1976, 1980, 1984, and 1989 at the “Festspielverein“, the around 200 amateur actors and the numerous audience.

For the season 1995, the Agnes Bernauer Festival Association decided to break new grounds. For the new text of the “Agnes-Bernauer-Festspiel“, the two authors Johannes Reitmeier and Thomas Stammberger be won, whose play “Agnes-Bernauer – Historienspiel in 15 Bildern” was premiered in 1995 and since then it elated the audience also in 1999, 2003 and 2007.

For the Festival in 2011 the author Johannes Reitmeier wrote a new play in 12 pictures wich was directed by him on a newly designed stage.

In February 1428 Albrecht III, the only son and heir of the Duke of Wittelsbach Ernst, regent of the Duchy of Bavaria-Straubing and Munich, got to know and fell in love with the daughter of a barber, Agnes Bernauer of Augsburg. In the Middle Ages barber was considered to be dishonorable. Children from such a connection were excluded from the succession. Nevertheless, Albrecht married Agnes.

In case of Albrechts death, members of the wittlesbach family would take Albrechts place. Since Albrecht didn’t want to be seperated from Agnes, the duke had no choice but to have her executed for treason, witchcraft and state damage.

While Albrecht was hunting, Agnes Bernauer was drowned on 12 October 1435 in the Danube in Straubing.