Martin Hochmeister (1740 – 1789) was a Transylvanian Saxon typographer and bookseller from Sibiu who learned the art of presswork in the print shop of Johann Barth in Sibiu. In 1773, he won the imperial lottery prize of 108 gold florins, which he used to buy the Sárdi print shop in 1777. He opened the first library in town that lent books in 1782. In 1778, he founded the first theatre magazine, Theatral Wochenblatt. In 1784, he started printing the newspaper Siebenbürger Zeitung, which shortly became the most read newspaper by the Transylvanian Saxons. Hermannstädter Kriegsbote appeared in 1787, followed by Siebenbürger Bote in 1791, journals edited in the spirit of the Enlightenment. In 1787, Martin Hochmeister requested and obtained the concession of the building of the Thick Tower for organizing a city theatre, the first theatre on the current territory of Romania and one of the few in Europe at that time. The theatre hall was built in one year, for 24,000 florins. In June 1788, the first theatre performance was held there.
Constantin Chiriac:
''Founder of the first public library, the first theatre magazine and the first newspapers, magazines and gazettes in Sibiu, Martin Hochmeister is awarded a star on the Sibiu Walk of Fame as a sign of respect for the construction of the first theatre on what is now the territory of Romania, in Sibiu, in 1788.''
Star offered with the support of: Henkel
