The device has lamps (4, 5) swivelably and movably held in an operation theatre (1) via a swiveling arm that is hinged at a fixed deflection position in a ceiling wall area, where the device is converted between handheld- and automatic modes. A position-detection device (20) detects position of an alignment aid. The lamps are aligned to the alignment aid, which is designed as a mobile hand-held device. The position-detection device comprises cameras (8-10) installed in the operation theatre for detecting a definite image detection area. An independent claim is also included for a method for operating the device for illuminating the operation area of the sterile operation theatre.
