Landmark
Opera Wrocławska
A theatre at Świdnicka 35, built as the city theatre in 1841 and home to the Wrocław opera since 1945.
The building
The theatre was built between 1839 and 1841 to a design by Carl Ferdinand Langhans, and opened in 1841. It was the Stadttheater, the city's theatre, on Świdnicka street, with a stage and an auditorium for about 1,600 people.
Fires in 1865 and 1871 each led to a rebuilding. Carl Johann Lüdecke rebuilt it after the first, and Karl Schmidt after the second.
1945
The building came through the siege of Festung Breslau in relatively good condition. The sculptures of the muses on the roof were destroyed and the roof damaged, the pediment over the main facade was hit, and the south facade had large holes. After the fighting the openings in the facade and the roof were secured.
The first night
8 September 1945.
The opera in Polish Wrocław began with Stanisław Moniuszko's Halka, put on by the singer Stanisław Drabik. It ran for three performances, on 8, 9 and 10 September. The city authorities authorised Drabik to organise opera performances on 17 September.