Ronacher, found in inner-city Vienna, was built by the architects Ferdinand Fellner d. Ä. und Ferdinand Fellner d. J between 1871 and 1872 as a private Ltd. for journalist Max Friedländerand the former “Burgtheater” Director Heinrich Laube. As a "Viennese City Theatre", it appealed to a broad middle-class audience and directly competed with the Imperial Court theatres of the day.

Its official opening was on the 15th September 1872 with Heinrich Laubes rendition of Friedrich Schillers Demetrius.

Vaudeville Theatre
Twelve years later, on the 15th May 1884 the theatre went up in flames. Re-opening as a theatre was no longer possible due to new enforced fire regulations.
In 1886 Anton Ronacher bought the ruined theatre, once again allowing Ferdinand Fellner d. J. and his partner Hermann Helmer, the most successful theatre designers of the time, to redesign the theatre - converting it into a Concert Hall and Ballroom. To this new building, intended as a Vaudeville or Variety Theatre, Anton Ronacher had a hotel connecting to the ballroom proper and was by this stage also able to build in electric lighting.

In 1888, the theatre was reopened as the RONACHER ESTABLISHMENT.
Elaborated stage machinery was waived at this stage as to the future use, instead Parquet flooring and lodge benches were placed where guests could eat, drink and smoke while enjoying the performances. After a short two years however, Anton Ronacher was forced to resign due to economic reasons.

From 1890, performances from powerful personalities and athletes attracted large numbers of visitors from the outlying suburbs, which in turn urged the big bourgeois and aristocratic audience to follow suit. Throughout the following years the typical vaudeville variety programme including operettas, was generously mixed with guest performances, dance and vocal soloists. For years, dancers, magicians, acrobats and illusionists dominated the theatre. On of the highlights of this period was the appearance of Josephine Baker in 1932. The 30's marked the end of the variety theatre in RONACHER, mainly due to the banning of performances by Jewish artists.

After the war, the stage was used as a substitute for the destroyed "Burgtheater" from 1955 until 1960, once again performing variety theatre. In 1960 RONACHER was closed. The ORF then took over the building as Studio and rehearsal stage space but abandoned the building once more in 1976.
10 long years drew by before Cagliostro in Vienna and the Vienna Festival Events took the first steps towards a revival of the theatre in 1986.

Arrival of Musical Theatre
In 1987 VEREINIGTE BÜHNEN WIEN took over RONACHER with the intention to revitalise the theatre once more. From 1988 until 1990, Cats, acquired from THEATER AN DER WIEN, as well as two Opera Premiers filled the stage.

After a soft renovation in 1993, RONACHER was reopened and leased. From September 1997 however, it once more joined the ranks of the VBW and served primarily as a guest performance house for international touring productions, as an event location and occasionally as a venue for VBW's own productions such as Chicago and F@lco - A Cyber Show.

The new RONACHER
Between 2005 and 2008, a comprehensive functional renovation of RONACHER took place.
This project, budgeted at 34,1 Million Euro, was based on plans from "Architektur Consult ZT GmbH" and carried out by Prof. DI Günther Domenig and DI Gerhard Wallner.

Deputy Mayor Mag. Renate Brauner, in the company of Federal President Dr. Heinz Fischer and City Councillor Dr. Andreas Mailath-Pokorny, officially reopened RONACHER with the Gala Premier of The Producers on the 30th June 2008. Today RONACHER is once again one of the "pearls" of the Vienna theatre scene.

In September 2009, RONACHER celebrated the first Viennese Version Premier of the Cult-Musical TANZ DER VAMPIRE.
From 15th September 2011 until the end of 2012, Musical-Hit SISTER ACT was to be seen in RONACHER. NATÜRLICH BLOND celebrated its Premier on 21st February 2013 followed by LOVE NEVER DIES, the continuation of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA as concert version, from 18th till the 26th October.

DER BESUCH DER ALTEN DAME, based on the play by Friedrich Dürrenmatt and with musical stars Pia Douwes and Uwe Kroeger in leading roles, filled the schedule between February and June of 2014.
Since 1st October 2014, the Broadway Musical MARY POPPINS, about the Banks Family and their spectacular nanny, has enchanted RONACHER's audiences.