Saalbau

The Saalbau on Balduinstraße in St. Wendel is a municipal venue for concerts and public events. It is one of the settings of WND JAZZ, whose 2024 programme brought the Markus Stockhausen Group, Nguyên Lê’s trio and a Spanish-themed closing evening to its stage. Planning for an energy-efficiency renovation and reorganisation of the building began in 2017. The scheme presented in 2024 combined the renewal of the hall’s infrastructure with an extension and improvements to its surroundings. Saint Wendelin, an Irish or Scottish hermit of the sixth century, is buried in the basilica that gives this Saarland town its name and its pilgrims. The Saalbau is the secular equivalent: St. Wendel's principal hall, used for concerts, congresses, carnival and touring productions. Opera reaches it in staged form from time to time — Puccini's Turandot has been given there.