Miskolc National Theater

The Miskolc National Theater on Széchenyi Street is one of the most prominent buildings built in the neoclassical and romantic styles. It was built where the country’s very first stone theater once stood.

The construction of this building began in 1819 at about the same place where today’s Museum of Theatrical History and Art is now located on Déryné Street. It was inaugurated in 1823 by Károly Kisfaludy with a local play titled ”The Tartars in Hungary.”

Unfortunately, the first theater building in Miskolc was destroyed in the 1843 fire. The new building was ceremonially started in September 1847, and the building we see today was opened to the public in 1857 with Mihály Vörösmarty’s play titled ”Bán Marót.” It was built according to the plans of Giuseppe Cassano. The first director of the theater was Endre Latabár, a member of the famous Latabár dynasty.

The building has been renovated and rebuilt several times for the last 170 some years, but has always retained its neo-classicist and neo-baroque features.

Significant modernization was carried out in the 1880s with the introduction of central heating and aerial lighting. This was the time that the tower was built; it used to serve as a fire guard but nowadays it serves as a clock. Between 1957 and 1959, the building was modernized and rebuilt.

The Miskolc National Theater experienced the greatest transformation in the 1990s. As a result, its square footage has doubled from an area of ​​8,000 square meters to more than 16 thousand square meters. With its five auditorums today, the theater complex is capable of putting on any show anyone has ever dreamed of.