Juliusz Słowacki Theatre () is a 19th-century Eclectic-style theatre and opera house located in the

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, and a

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

. Erected in 1893, it was modeled after some of the best European

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

and Eclectic theatres such as the

Palais Garnier The (, Garnier Palace), also known as (, Garnier Opera), is a historic 1,979-seatBeauvert 1996, p. 102. opera house at the Place de l'Opéra in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built for the Paris Opera from 1861 to 1875 at the ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. The theatre was named after Polish poet Juliusz Słowacki in 1909 and in 1978 was inscribed alongside the Historic Centre of Kraków into the World Heritage Register.

History

Designed by Jan Zawiejski, the theatre was erected on Holy Spirit Square (''Plac Św. Ducha'') in place of the former 14th century church and monastery of

religious order A religious order is a subgroup within a larger confessional community with a distinctive high-religiosity lifestyle and clear membership. Religious orders often trace their lineage from revered teachers, venerate their Organizational founder, ...

'Duchacy' or

Order of the Holy Ghost The Order of the Holy Ghost (also known as Hospitallers of the Holy Spirit) is a Catholic religious order. It was founded in 1180 in Montpellier by Gui of Montpellier, the son of William VII of Montpellier, for the care of the sick by groups of ...

(hence the name of the square). The church had been converted into a residential building due to

secularization In sociology, secularization () is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level." There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism or irreligion, nor are they automatica ...

of the Polish male branch of the

cloister A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...

in 1783. The city council of Kraków decided to demolish it in 1886 in order to make room for a new theatre. The church was dismantled in May 1892an event which caused much controversy, notably the emotive declaration of Polish painter

Jan Matejko Jan Alojzy Matejko (; also known as Jan Mateyko; 24 June 1838 – 1 November 1893) was a Polish painter, a leading 19th-century exponent of history painting, known for depicting nodal events from Polish history. His works include large scale ...

, that he would never exhibit his paintings in Kraków again. The new theatre opened on 21 October 1893. It was an exquisite example of the Polish Eclectic architecture, the first building in Kraków designed for and equipped with electric light. Initially it was called Municipal Theatre (''Teatr Miejski''). Only in 1909 did it receive the name of Juliusz Słowacki, a Polish poet and playwright of Romanticism. Inauguration took place with a program consisting of excerpts from

Aleksander Fredro Aleksander Fredro (20 June 1793 – 15 July 1876) was a Polish poet, playwright and Polish authors, author active during Romanticism in Poland, Polish Romanticism in the Partitions of Poland, period of partitions by neighboring empires. His works ...

's ''Zemsta'', Juliusz Słowacki's '' Balladyna'' and

Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. He also largely influenced Ukra ...

's '' Konfederaci Barscy''. The theatre staged its first full-length production, Fredro's ''Śluby Panieńskie'', four days later. During

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

occupation of Poland, the theatre was run by a German troupe. The last Polish play for the next 6 years was produced in Autumn 1939. The theatre reopened for Polish audience in February 1945. Since 27 March 1976, the theatre is accompanied by the Small Stage housed in the former electric plant (designed in 1890s, to provide the theatre with its own electricity). In 2000 a third stage was added, the summertime Next to the Pump Stage. A fourth one (Stage in the Gate) opened on 7 November 2003.

Directors

The first director of the Theatre was Tadeusz Pawlikowski (1893–1899), followed by Józef Kotarbiński (1899–1905) and

Ludwik Solski Ludwik Solski (20 January 1855 - 19 December 1954), born Ludwik Napoleon Karol Sosnowski, was a Polish stage actor and theatre director. From his stage debut in 1876 until his death (his last performance took place six months after his 99th birth ...

(1905–1913). Tadeusz Pawlikowski resumed this position in the years 1913-1915. Playwright

Lucjan Rydel Lucjan Rydel, also known as Lucjan Antoni Feliks Rydel (17 May 1870 in Kraków – 8 April 1918 in Bronowice Małe), was a Polish playwright and poet from the Young Poland movement. Life Rydel was the son of Lucjan Rydel, a surgeon, ophthalmolog ...

became the Theatre's director for one season during 1915-1916. Adam Grzymala-Siedlecki took that role in the years 1916-1918. After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the theatre was directed by Teofil Trzciński (1918–1926), Zygmunt Nowakowski (1926–1929), once again Trzciński (1929–1932), Juliusz Osterwa (1932–1935) and Karol Frycz (1935–1939). Frycz and Osterwa became the directors again after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

(Frycz from 1945 to 1946, and Osterwa in 1946-1947). The next directors were Bronisław Dąbrowski (1947–1950) and Henryk Szletyński (1950–1955). Bronisław Dąbrowski was once again appointed as director from 1955 to 1972. Krystyna Skuszanka and Jerzy Krasowski directed the theatre from 1972 to 1981.

Andrzej Kijowski ::''Not to be mistaken for Andrzej Tadeusz Kijowski, his son.'' Andrzej Kijowski (29 November 1928 – 29 June 1985) was a Polish literary critic, essayist and screenwriter. Biography Kijowski was born on 29 November 1928 in Kraków, Poland. Ki ...

's short period of directorship ended the same year with the imposition of

martial law in Poland Martial law in Poland () existed between 13 December 1981 and 22 July 1983. The Polish United Workers' Party, government of the Polish People's Republic drastically restricted everyday life by introducing martial law and a military junta in an a ...

. Mikołaj Grabowski (1982–1985) was followed by Jan Paweł Gawlik (1985–1989), Jan Prochyra (1989–1990), Jerzy Goliński (1990–1992) and Bogdan Hussakowski (1992–1999). Current director of the theatre is Krzysztof Orzechowski.

Cultural significance

The Theatre became the birthplace of the theatrical concept of the Young Poland movement and was closely related to the rediscovery of Romantic drama as well as the premiere productions of plays by Polish national playwright

Stanisław Wyspiański Stanisław Mateusz Ignacy Wyspiański (; 15 January 1869 – 28 November 1907) was a Polish playwright, painter, poet, and interior and furniture designer. A patriotic writer, he created symbolic national dramas accordant with the artisti ...

. The significance of the Polish Romantic tradition under the foreign occupation and especially Słowacki's legacy was reflected in the first festival of his plays organized there in 1909. It was at this time that the Theatre adopted the name of Słowacki and became known as Juliusz Słowacki Theatre. At the Theatre, the audiences could witness actors such as Kazimierz Kamiński,

, Maksymilian Węgrzyn, Antonina Hoffman, Wanda Siemaszkowa, Stanisława Wysocka and Aleksander Zelwerowicz. Theatre artists like Juliusz Osterwa and Kazmierz Junosza-Stepowski began their careers at the Słowacki Theatre, and Helena Modrzejewska made numerous guest appearances. During the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

, the theatre was overshadowed by the Warsaw theatre scene, but still it was considered to be one of the most important stages in Poland. In 1980 the Słowacki Theatre staged the world premiere of

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

''Our God's Brother'' ('), a production whose significance was above all political.

Gallery

File:0082Kraków.JPG, Słowacki Theatre, front entrance File:Kraków -Teatr im. Juliusza Słowackiego w Krakowie.jpg, The theatre in

Kraków Old Town Kraków Old Town is the historic central area of Kraków, Poland.Ingrid GustafsonLet's Go: Eastern Europe Published by Macmillan, page 444. Let's Go Publications, 2008. It is one of the most famous old areas in Poland today and was the centre ...

at night File:Teatr Miejski im. Słowackiego w Krakowie (2).jpg, Side view File:Widownia i kurtyna.jpg, Theatre interior File:Westybyl schody.jpg, Entrance hall

Notes and references

External links