Schmelzer Lichtspiele movie theater

The Schmelzer Lichtspiele is a movie theater with two screening rooms, MAXI and MINI. Both are equipped with elegant plush seats, superior leg room makes for extra comfort. Seating is arranged on a slope, offering each patron the best possible view from any seat. The MAXI is one of the few screening rooms in Saarland that still has a balcony. In all, the MAXI can accommodate 200 cineasts, with 52 seats being on the balcony. There is one concession stand on the main floor and one on the balcony, where patrons can stock up on refreshments before the movie. During the movie, the main concession stand in the foyer is open for service. The MINI has 72 seats, patrons can buy snacks at the concession stand in the foyer.

The cinema was built in 1919 and opened on Christmas of that same year by the great-grandparents of today’s owners, the Müller family. Initially, the movies that were shown were black and white silent films with live musical accompaniment. Patrons weren’t quite as comfortable as they are today. There were only two seating sections, one on the left and one on the right. A central corridor separated the two and replaced the center aisle, which is actually where the best seats in any movie theater are found. The seats weren’t plush armchairs but simple wooden folding chairs, leaving little leg room and arm space. The first rows were even less comfortable: wooden benches. Despite the discomfort, however, those benches were pretty popular. Although they were meant for about 10 people, usually, 15 to 20 patrons packed on, making the movie watching experience a snug one.

In the 1930s, the next generation of the Müller family had taken over and, by then, silent movies had been replaced by talkies, black and white had given way to color. Marga Müller, daughter-in-law of the original founders, came from Westphalia, where her family operated a hotel and a movie theater in the town of Warstein. Warsteiner beer was one of the bestselling brews in Germany and it was sold in Saarland too. In 1956, the theater was expanded. The foundations of the main walls had already been laid before the war. A new roof was erected. In 1983, the MINI received its own projection room, an office, and two garages.

The MAXI switched from hot water heating to air heating. In both the MAXI and the MINI, carpet was installed on the floors and on the walls, the rooms were equipped with materials categorized „of low flammability“, and the trade supervisory board granted permission to smoke – until on 15 February 2008, the smoking ban for public buildings and restaurants came into effect. In 1984, the Schmelzer Lichtspiele was among the first movie theaters in Saarland to equip their screening rooms with DOLBY-SURROUND sound with virtually invisible in-ceiling speakers. Always eager to stay up-to-date with the latest technical developments, the theater upgraded to DOLBY-DIGITAL and DTS shortly after.