A revolving auditorium is a mechanically controlled seating area within a

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

which can be rotated in order to manipulate the change of scenery and stage sets during the performance. Revolving auditoriums are favoured by open-air theatres in particular, because they are ideally suited for the use of natural scenery as an integral part of the set. The first revolving auditoriums were built in 1959 in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

and the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

(then

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

), respectively. The Finnish auditorium

Pyynikki Summer Theatre Pyynikki Summer Theatre ( fi, Pyynikin kesäteatteri) is an open-air theatre operating in Tampere, Finland, known especially for its revolving auditorium. It is one of the largest summer theatres in Finland and has been running uninterrupted lo ...

Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...

, was the first of its kind to be powered by electrical machinery. The Revolving Theatre Český Krumlov in the Baroque gardens of

Český Krumlov Castle Český Krumlov Castle is a castle in Český Krumlov in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It dates back to 1240 when the first castle was built by the Vítkovci family, the main branch of the powerful Bohemian family Rosenberg. ...

South Bohemia The South Bohemian Region ( cs, Jihočeský kraj; , ) is an administrative unit (''kraj'') of the Czech Republic, located mostly in the southern part of its historical land of Bohemia, with a small part in southwestern Moravia. The western part ...

at first required 40 people to power its movements, and in 1960 human power was replaced by an electric motor. Other revolving auditorium was built in

Närpes Närpes (; fi, Närpiö ) is a List of cities and towns in Finland, town and Municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in Western Finland and is part of the Ostrobothnia (region), Ostrobothnia regions of Finland, region. T ...

in 1966, a smaller revolving auditorium from 1983 is also found in

Týn nad Vltavou Týn nad Vltavou (; german: Moldautein) is a town in České Budějovice District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 7,800 inhabitants. It lies on the Vltava river. The town centre is well preserved and is protected b ...

and a smaller indoor revolving auditorium in the Boulevard theatre was opened in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 2019. At the time of its construction in 1992, the

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

theatre Celtworld contained the largest revolving auditorium in Europe, it was however closed in 1995.

References

See also