The bears are out! Bloodthirsty pleasures at the Hetz amphitheatre

Pleasure was not the exclusive preserve of high-ranking lords and ladies; theatre and dancing were popular with all levels of society and were enjoyed in the suburban theatres, at marionette and puppet shows, at farces and burlesques and in the dance halls of the taverns.

One bloodthirsty but extremely popular attraction was the Hetzamphitheater in Vienna: a three-storeyed wooden structure with masonry cages in the Unter den Weissgerbern suburb (today in Vienna’s third municipal district) which could hold up to 3,000 spectators. Here animal-baiting spectacles were staged: hounds were set upon bears, wolves, wild boars and even lions and leopards.

Animals which are kept permanently: A lion. Two tigers. Ten bears. Six wolves. Four wild boars. Two Hungarian bulls. Two Swiss bulls. Two stags. A number of foxes, badgers and lynx. Seventy-three hounds. In addition to the animals listed, at each spectacle two fresh wild Hungarian oxen selected from the city’s butchers are baited.

The performances took place in the afternoon on Sundays and public holidays from March to November, but only in fine weather, as the amphitheatre was not roofed over. The performances were advertised in the city and the suburbs on flyers known as Hetzzettel and were highly popular with all classes of society. The mood of the spectators was whipped up by an orchestra playing exotic-sounding ‘Turkish’ music.

The Hetztheater made large profits and for that reason it was acquired and leased out by the state, against all reservations and notwithstanding the policy of striving to raise popular taste. From then on the receipts flowed into the Cassa Pauperum or poor-relief fund. This form of entertainment was roundly criticized by intellectuals who were influenced by Enlightenment ideals. In 1796 the Hetztheater burned down and was not rebuilt.