Old Theater (Kraków) | theatre, monument, Art Nouveau / Jugendstil (architecture), listed building / architectural heritage

 theatre, monument, Art Nouveau / Jugendstil (architecture), listed building / architectural heritage

The National Old Theatre (Narodowy Stary Teatr)
The date of birth of the later Old Theatre in Cracow is well known: on October 17th 1781, the Krakow magistrate let Mateusz Witkowski, an actor of the Warsaw Theater, stage comedies if he pays 50 zloty a month to the Cracow authorities. Three days later, the first play – a comedy by Alexandre Ferrier – was staged, probably in one of the buildings next to the Krakow Main Square.
The Old Theater – then called simply the Krakow Theatre – moved to its current place of residence on Jagiellonska street in 1799. Throughout the 19th century, though Poland was divided between Russia, Prussia and Austria, Krakow had a relative autonomy (being a free city for a large part of the century), and was a good place for keeping the national culture alive. The Krakow Theater played an important role in that task, staging Polish plays both in Cracow and on other stages on the former Polish lands.
Currently the National Old Theatre presents classic as well as modern plays, linked by the Theatre's high artistic standard.