History
The culture and guesthouse «Der Teufelhof Basel» was opened in 1989. The former owners, the married couple Monica and Dominique Thommy-Kneschaurek, fulfilled a lifelong dream with it.
You can tell from the Teufelhof that its initiators did not come directly from the hospitality industry. Dominique Thommy did not understand theatre as a cultural island, but as an element actively intervening in city life. Together with his partner Albert leVice, he built the first portable small theatre in 1967: «Das schiefe Theater», a special construction on wheels which, when unfolded, formed a closed, soundproof theatre hall for 120 spectators with a fully equipped stage. «Das schiefe Theater» could appear where theatre was not expected at the time: in the midst of everyday life in city centres. This intense period also saw Monica and Dominique Thommy-Kneschaurek come together. In October 1968, «Das schiefe Theater» premiered in Basel. Over the following seven years, they toured across Europe together with the leVice partner couple and presented the programme in more than 1'100 performances to over 90'000 spectators.
After the intense travelling period with the «schiefe Theater», the two wanted to settle down. They asked themselves how one could run a theatre at a fixed location whose programme did not have to rely on subsidies or on superficial audience success. The solution was called «self-subsidisation» of theatre operations through a parallel café and restaurant business. At first, they ran the «Theater/ Café zum Teufel» in Basel; 14 years later, the significantly larger culture and guesthouse «Der Teufelhof» was created.
With charming stubbornness, they pursued their goal, despite years of objections that were decided in their favour by the Federal Court. And so »Der Teufelhof» became what it is today.
The highest goal is to arouse curiosity and to act as a mediator between personalities and their quality products on the one hand and the guests on the other. This applies both in gastronomy and in theatre and the visual arts.
And: even today, the gastronomy and hotel business still finances a large part of the art. This makes the Teufelhof unique.
As of 01 January 2009, the Teufelhof passed into new hands. The Thommy couple sold the house to two former employees, Nathalie Reinhardt and Raphael Wyniger. They now run the house and bring it to life with new ideas and concepts, while always being mindful of preserving the tradition.
