National Theatre (Nemzeti Színház)
Budapest

Count István Széchenyi was the first to imagine a National Theatre on the banks of the Danube. He designed plans for a lavish building, and would have liked to operate the institution as a joint-stock company. The count urged the construction of the ambitious theatre complex in a 1832 pamphlet entitled ‘On the Hungarian Theatre’.

In decree 41 of 1836, the Hungarian Diet ordered the construction of a grand national Hungarian theatre. It operated on a designated plot of land in the city of Pest as the Hungarian Theatre, then from 22 August 1837 until 1840 as the Hungarian Theatre of Pest, and from 1840 as the National Theatre. The building, which stood at the corner of Rákóczi Street and the Museum Ring, was demolished in 1913.

The building of the People’s Theatre at Blaha Lujza Square was rented out to the theatre company. In 1963, the decision was taken to pull it down because of the construction of the new metro. The theatre operated here until 1964, and on 23 April 1965 the building was destroyed.

In 1964 the company moved to what is now the Thália Theatre in Nagymező Street. Two years later it was transferred to the former Hungarian Theatre on Hevesi Sándor Square for what proved to be quite a prolonged provisional period. This bore the name National Theatre until 1 September 2000, when construction work began on the new building on the bank of the Danube.

The new National Theatre along the Danube first opened its doors on 15 March 2002. By the time of its completion, it became a national symbol.

The construction of the new National Theatre, on the basis of plans by architect Mária Siklós, began on 14 September 2000, and, after a construction process of record-breaking speed, was completed in a little over 15 months.

The artists were able to take possession of the building on 2 January 2002, when rehearsals began for the inaugural performance on 15 March. In functional terms, the theatre is divided into three parts. The central part comprises the auditorium, with an almost circular ground-plan, and the studio theatre. This part is surrounded by the areas for audience members, and the U-shaped technical wing bordering the main stage. The theatre is surrounded by areas for parking. Together with the open-air stage, the area of the theatre is 20,844 square metres.