The National Theatre, located in
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
originally opened in 1837. Since then, it has occupied several locations, including the original building at Kerepesi Street, the ''People's Theatre'' at
Blaha Lujza Square, as well as Hevesi Sándor Square, its longest temporary location. It currently occupies the National Theatre building, which opened March 15, 2002.
History
![Budapest anno - Nemzeti Színház](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Budapest_anno_-_Nemzeti_Sz%C3%ADnh%C3%A1z.jpg)
The concept of a national theatre in Budapest was born at the turn of the 18th-19th century, promoted by influential thinkers including
Ferenc Kazinczy
Ferenc Kazinczy (in older English: Francis Kazinczy, October 27, 1759 – August 23, 1831) was a Hungarian author, poet, translator, neologist, an agent in the regeneration of the Hungarian language and literature at the turn of the 19th centur ...
and Baron
István Széchenyi
Count István Széchenyi de Sárvár-Felsővidék ( hu, sárvár-felsővidéki gróf Széchenyi István, ; archaically English: Stephen Széchenyi; 21 September 1791 – 8 April 1860) was a Hungarian politician, political theorist, and wri ...
. Széchenyi was a major figure in Hungary's reform. He dreamed of a great building on the bank of the
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
that would operate in the form of a joint-stock company. He proposed his plans in his 1832 pamphlet, ''A Magyar Játékszínről''.
The
Hungarian Parliament
The National Assembly ( hu, Országgyűlés, lit=Country Assembly) is the parliament of Hungary. The unicameral body consists of 199 (386 between 1990 and 2014) members elected to 4-year terms. Election of members is done using a semi-propo ...
made the decision to move forward with a national theatre in its 41st article of 1836. Led by
Antal Grassalkovich
Anton Graf Grassalkovich ( Ürmény, 6 March 1694 – Gödöllő, 1 December 1771) was an Imperial Real Privy Councilor, President of the Royal Hungarian Court Chamber, Chief Justice of Hungary (1731–1748), and confidant of Empress Maria There ...
, construction began in 1835 on Kerepesi Street. With a company assembled in the previous four years by András Fáy and Gábor Döbrentei (playing in the
Court Theatre of Buda), the theatre opened on August 22, 1837, under the name ''Pesti Magyar Színház'' (Hungarian Theatre of Pest). Its goals were to give birth to the national drama and to showcase classics of world literature. Nationalized in 1840, the name was changed to the National Theatre, which it still holds today.
![Nemzszinh-spiralcivertan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Nemzszinh-spiralcivertan.jpg)
The National Theatre building was demolished in the 1900s. The company moved to the ''People's Theatre'' at Blaha Lujza Square in 1908. In the following decades, the company was only a tenant of ''People's Theatre'', and the building's state continually deteriorated. In 1963, authorities decided to demolish it, citing metro line construction as the reasoning. Operation ceased one year later, and the building was demolished on April 23, 1965. The company transferred to the renovated ''Petőfi Theatre'' (today is known as Thália), in Nagymező Street. Two years later, it relocated again to the former ''Magyar Theatre'' in Hevesi Sándor Square.
After the demolition of the ''People's Theatre,'' a proposal was made to build the new theater in the
City Park
An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to resi ...
, at Felvonulási Square. An international design contest for the new theatre was held in 1965. No first place prize was awarded, and instead the second place prize was shared between the plans of Miklós Hofer and Jan Bogusławski - Bohdan Golebiewski. The planning, led by Hofer, stretched on for the better part of two decades. The building permit was finally granted in 1985, but the construction work went no further than chopping down a few trees. In 1988, a tender was held for a new location and Engels Square (today Erzsébet Square) was chosen. Another decade passed without any progress. In 1996, Parliament agreed to move on to the next phase. However, the project was delayed again due to political quarrels over the next several years. The project resumed again with architect
Ferenc Bán being declared the winner, but the
newly elected government stopped the work, finding it too costly.
In 1999, ministry commissioner György Schwajda commissioned
Mária Siklós to make plans for a building at a new location Essenza, the bank of the Danube. This decision was met with anger from the Hungarian architect community, and a bid was held. György Vadász's won the bid. He did not modify Siklós's plans further, and construction began with Siklós's plans on September 14, 2000. The new National Theatre opened on March 15, 2002, Hungary's
National Day.
The New National Theatre
![Oldnemzeti](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Oldnemzeti.jpg)
The new National Theatre is on the bank of the Danube in the
Ferencváros
Ferencváros () is the 9th district of Budapest ( hu, Budapest IX. kerülete), Hungary.
Name
The southern suburb of Pest was named after King Francis I on 4 December 1792 when he was crowned king of Hungary.
History
The development of Fe ...
district, situated on Soroksári road,
Grand Boulevard, and
Rákóczi Bridge
Rákóczi Bridge ( hu, Rákóczi híd, formerly known as ''Lágymányosi híd'' / ''Lágymányosi Bridge'') is a bridge in Budapest, Hungary, connecting the settlements of Buda and Pest across the Danube. The construction of the steel girder bri ...
. It is a five minute walk from the
Csepel HÉV
Csepel (german: Tschepele) is the 21st district and a neighbourhood in Budapest, Hungary. Csepel officially became part of Budapest on 1 January 1950.
Location
Csepel is located at the northern end of Csepel Island in the Danube, and covers ...
(suburban railway). The Memorial of the Old National Theatre is located on the National Theatre grounds.
The theatre is 20,844 square meters (224,362.95 square feet), including an open-air stage. Functionally, it can be separated into three parts:
# The central unit, including the rounded auditorium and studio stage;
# The gangways, public areas, and horseshoe-shaped servicing areas;
# The surrounding park, which contains numerous memorials commemorating the Hungarian drama and film industry.
The nearby
Palace of Arts was opened in 2005.
Park
File:Magyar Nemzeti Színház Szoborpark Gobbi Hilda.jpg, Gobbi Hilda
File:Magyar Nemzeti Színház Szoborpark Major Tamás.jpg, Major Tamás
File:Magyar Nemzeti Színház Szoborpark Tímár József 3.jpg, Tímár József
File:Magyar Nemzeti Színház Szoborpark Ruttkai Éva 2.jpg, Ruttkai Éva
File:Magyar Nemzeti Színház Szoborpark Soós Imre 2.jpg, Soós Imre
Directors
György Schwajda
György Schwajda (24 March 1943 in Kispest – 19 April 2010 in Kaposvar) was a Hungarian dramatist and theater director
A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting o ...
became the first director of the theater. He signed the "company's core" and founded the title ''Actor of the Nation'' with a financial reward. He resigned in the summer of 2002. After his resignation, Thomas Jordan won the bid to become the new director. He organized the public from the countryside and debuted the many counties of Hungary on stage. Jordan stepped down in 2008 and Robert Alföldi took over. Where Jordan advocated support for the nation-rearing, folk theatre, Alföldi opposed its efforts. In 2013, Attila Vidnyanszky missed an opportunity to lead the National Theater.
Footnotes
References
*National Theatre in the Hungarian Theatrical Lexicon (György, Székely. ''Magyar Színházművészeti Lexikon''. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1994. )
freely available on mek.oszk.hu(hu)
*László, Kósa. A cultural history of Hungary. Budapest: Osiris Kiadó, 1998.
Nemzetiszinhaz.hu article- A brief article at the building, the garden, and a historical overview the on the official homepage (en)
Sulinet.hu article- An article on the history of the building on Sulinet.hu (hu)
Index.hu article- An article detailing the demolition of the People's Theatre in 1965 (hu)
szinhaz.hu article- - An article on the history of the National Theatre before 2002 (hu)
magyarnarancs.hu article- An article on the history of the National Theatre between 2002-2012 (hu)
External links
Official home page of the National Theatre(en)
National Relic Exhibition Hall, February 1, 2008 – March 18, 2008 (en)
Music and Musical Genres on the Pre-Erkel Hungarian Stage (.rtf)(en)
Csatolna.hu gallery- A gallery of images of the new National Theatre
Aerila photographs of the Theatre
{{Authority control
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
Buildings and structures in Budapest
Culture in Budapest
Theatres completed in 2002
Theatres in Budapest
Tourist attractions in Budapest
2002 establishments in Hungary