The proclamation of the Republic of Austria on November 12, 1918 also led to a change in the status of the court theaters. At the end of November, the state administration took over the two theatres and transferred them from the imperial court arsenal to the budget of the young republic. Even the changing address of the Burgtheater shows the political upheavals: the "Franzensring", the official address of the Hofburgtheater, becomes the "Ring des 12. November". The "k. k. Hofburgtheater", as it is still referred to in the golden inscription on the building, swapped its imperial address for a republican one. Its role in representing the ruling dynasty and the multicultural monarchy was no longer relevant, so it had to be redefined. What does the government hope to achieve by continuing to run the Burgtheater? How does it envisage the relationship between the state and the theatre? What role does it ascribe to the theatre in developing republican civil society? The answers to these questions will determine the future of the former court theatres in the First Republic. The role of the Burgtheater as 'erstes deutschsprachiges Theater' in shaping Austrian self-perception is critically examined based on source material. The administrative background to the takeover of the court theatres by the Republic's administration, and the debates surrounding the Burgtheater's role and position during changes in management and the production of controversial works, are discussed in the context of theatre, collective memory, and the construction of cultural identities.