Antonin Dvorak Theatre
Neo-baroque 1907 theatre on Smetana Square, main stage of the National Moravian-Silesian Theatre.
Ostrava set up a theatre building fund in 1902, and the Viennese architect Alexander Graf designed the new city theatre in a neo-baroque manner. The Vitkovice steelworks supplied the roof frame over the auditorium and stage, and the use of iron and steel girders was unusual among Czech theatres of the period. Interior decoration came from the Viennese firm Johann Bock & Son, facade sculpture from Eduard Smetana of Ostrava, and the crowning gable group from Eduard Veith.
The Stadttheater opened on 28 October 1907 and played in German until 1919, when it became the permanent home of the National Moravian-Silesian Theatre. During the Second World War the Czech company was forced out, and after 1945 the building carried several names before taking that of Antonin Dvorak in 1990. Rebuilt in 1954-56, 1969-71 and 1999-2000, the auditorium now seats 517 and is used by the opera, drama and ballet companies.
Highlights
- Neo-baroque facade crowned by a sculptural group by Eduard Veith
- Roof and iron structure supplied by the Vitkovice steelworks
- Auditorium of 517 seats, adapted for wheelchair users
- Shared home of the opera, drama and ballet companies
