LEOKINO – alternative cinema

March 26, 2023

büro54 - CORPORATE DESIGN - leokino . cinematograph

Anichstraße 36, open daily from 3:30 p.m.

The Leokino is one of the most important venues for alternative cinema outside the mainstream in western Austria.

In 1998/1999 the Leokino in the western city centre was adapted with two halls and has since been run by the Otto Preminger Institute. The roots of the Leokino go back to the beginnings of the Catholic workers’ movement in Tyrol at the turn of the 20th century. It was initially a club hall opened in 1901 for the various sections of the Catholic Workers’ Association for Innsbruck, KAVI. This was named after Pope Leo XIII, who had laid the foundations for modern Catholic social teaching with his social encyclical. After Austria’s annexation by the German Reich, the KAVI’s assets were confiscated, including the Leosaal. After 1945, the property, which had been badly damaged by aerial bombing and looters, was returned to the KAVI after negotiations. The idea arose to turn the club hall into a cinema. It was opened in 1956 and operated by KAVI with 458 seats. In 1978 it was leased by the operator of the Metropolkino, one of the largest cinemas in Innsbruck. In 1998/1999 the cinema was restored and adapted to modern cinema operations.

Further information and the current cinema programme can be found on the Leokino homepage