Ján Palárik’s Theatre

Trnava Theatre was founded in 1831 as one of the first Slovak public theatre buildings. It was built thanks to the common effort of town authorities and citizens. It is surprising that this “the temple of culture” arose at a very unfavourable time marked by the great cholera plague. However, behind the enthusiastic initiative of Trnava citizens, one should look for the ambition to continue a theatre tradition already firmly rooted within the town during the university era. The theatre grew out of the continuous reconstruction of the Black Hawk Inn, which was the property of the town, and its accommodation services were mostly used by prominent visitors. The Empire style design of the building was created by B.Grünn. In the part of the building facing the square, the inn was still operating, while the theatre hall itself, together with an auditorium for 548 people, was built in the inn’s yard in the place of a wooden dance hall. Municipal authorities provided the land plot and funds for the main construction; the stage and boxes construction, interior decorations, the purchase of sceneries, props, and orchestra instruments were financed by the Theatre Association. The first performance in the theatre, which was performed in German, took place on 26 December, 1831. The theatre’s first Slovak performance was showcased only in 1869, but the era of Palarik’s comedies did not last long. Due to forced magyarization, from 1893 until the end of the monarchy, plays could only be presented in Hungarian. During the secession modification of the theatre building in 1907, the simple Empire façade received a rich stucco decoration and a ceremonial mirror hall, Panonia, was created on the floor. The inn on the ground floor was closed and rebuilt into theatre entrance facilities. The window lattices on the ground floor originated in 1960. On the occasion of the 170th anniversary of the ceremonial theatre opening in 2001, the theatre was renamed Ján Palárik’s Theatre, after the Slovak playwright who worked in Trnava.