The Maxim Gorki Theater in Berlin-Mitte occupies a building constructed for the Sing-Akademie zu Berlin, a choir founded by Carl Friedrich Christian Fasch in 1791. It is the oldest concert hall building in Berlin. The junior architect Carl Theodor Ottmer executed it in the classical style, using plans by Karl Friedrich Schinkel. It opened in 1827.
Alexander von Humboldt gave his Cosmos lectures there in 1827 and 1828. In 1829 Felix Mendelssohn led a revival of Bach's St Matthew Passion in the hall. The Prussian National Assembly met there in 1848.
World War II badly damaged the building. In 1952 it was renamed after the Soviet writer Maxim Gorky and opened as a theatre on October 30. It seats 440. Şermin Langhoff became artistic director in the 2013/14 season, and the theatre won Theater of the Year in 2014 and 2016.
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