The win for the Munich Kammerspiele was seen as a great honour for the theatre, which recently underwent a massive five-year renovation project that had slightly reduced its clout among theatregoers. The Berlin festival honored the work of "Die Nibelungen" director Andreas Kriegenburg in particular. Kriegenburg’s interpretation of "Germany’s national epic" was described as a "forward-thinking achievement" by the festival jury.

"The jury’s decision for Andreas Kriegenburg has a lot to do with the vision of this director, who doesn’t design his works as a pure contribution to a public debate," the jury said in a statement

Kriegenburg is among the most important German directors of his time, having recently staged all three parts of Wagner’s "Nibelungen" epic opera in Munich to tremendous critical acclaim and financial success. One of his directorial positions is at the Thalia Theater in Hamburg, which was recently named Germany’s Theatre of the Year by Theater Today magazine.