Silver Coin 500 CZK National Theatre 100th Anniversary 1983

100th anniversary of the opening of the National Theatre

Silver commemorative coin issued in Czechoslovakia in 1983 to mark the 100th anniversary of the opening of the National Theatre. This rare silver coin is housed in a plastic capsule, certificate of authenticity not included.

The National Theatre in Prague is one of the most famous theatres in the Czech Republic. The Neo-Renaissance building of the Josef Zítek Theatre is one of the most important buildings in the country both in terms of general national culture, history and purely architectural aspects.

Czech patriots began to consider the construction of a stone theatre as early as 1844 at their meetings in Prague. The beginning of the construction was first realized by the request for "privilege for the construction, equipment, maintenance and management" of an independent Czech theatre, which was submitted to the Estates Committee of the Czech Diet on 29 January 1845 by František Palacký. The privilege was granted in April 1845. However, it was not until six years later - in April 1851 - that the Committee for the Establishment of the Czech National Theatre in Prague issued its first public appeal to start collections.

However, the national collection was not the main source of funding for the construction of the National Theatre; most of the funds were provided by the Austrian Empire, later by the Kingdom and the countries represented in the Imperial Council and by the Holy Crown of Hungary (Austria-Hungary). Emperor Franz Joseph I also visited the opening ceremony and on that occasion made his first personal contribution of 5,000 guilders and later, when he learned of the theatre's burning down, he immediately donated another 13,000. The Provincial Committee of the Kingdom of Bohemia released 14,700 guilders, Czech patriots organized a bazaar at Žofín, the proceeds of which amounted to almost 6 thousand guilders, and members of the imperial family donated 26 thousand, The Russian Tsar and the Czech nobility also contributed - among the most important ones, let us mention at least Prince Lobkowitz (6 thousand gold coins), the Count family of Chotek (over 4.5 thousand), the Count family of Kolovrat (over 4 thousand), the names of the Schwarzenbergs, Kinskis, Czernins, Nostics, Harrachs and others.

On 16 May 1868, the foundation stone was laid at the Provisional Theatre with the premiere of Smetana's Dalibor. Originally, the foundation stone was to be brought only from Mount Říp, but stones were also delivered from the following places: Blaník, Radhošt', Vyšehrad (rock), Hostýn, Žižkov, Svatobor near Sušice, Branka na Dobeníně near Náchod, Boubín, Zlatý kůň near Tmany (Red Quarry), Trocnov, Prácheň near Horažďovice, Čerchov, Buchlov, Lipník, Helfštýn, Doudleby, the ruins of the Podlažický Monastery near Chrast, Záhlinice, Kaménka Quarry near Louňovice. In addition, a brick made of clay and water from the well where St. Cyril was baptized came from Podivín. Additionally, in 1869, a marble slab arrived from Czech compatriots from Chicago.

The first stone arrived from Radhoště on 5 May 1868, from Říp and Žižkov on 11 May, and from Blaník on 13 May. On 16 May, a public ceremony of laying the foundation stone (or rather stones) was held with a large attendance of the people - an estimated 100 to 150 thousand people were present. In addition to the foundation stones, a finger case from the Plavský mound, which is one of the most extensive pre-Christian burial sites in Bohemia, was also ceremoniously deposited. Only selected guests attended the evening premiere of Libuše.

By the end of 1868 the foundations were built and in 1877 the roof was constructed. In 1873, a competition for the decoration of the building was held at the same time, the scenario of which was drawn up by a special committee under the direction of Sladkovský: the themes were both classical in the spirit of the Neo-Renaissance conception of the building, and inspired by the contemporary enthusiasm for Slavic mythology and for the story of the Manuscripts - both of these concepts, based on Manes painting and combined with contemporary Romantic landscape painting (also linked thematically to Czech history), provided the ideological basis for the artistic expression that is now referred to as "the art of the National Theatre generation". Bohuslav Schnirch, Mikoláš Aleš, František Ženíšek, Josef Václav Myslbek, Václav Brožík and Julius Mařák were the main contributors to the theatre's decorative art.

The National Theatre was first opened on 11 June 1881 in honour of the visit of Crown Prince Rudolf with the premiere of Smetana's Libuše, composed in the early 1870s for the occasion. Jan Nepomuk Maýr, an opera singer and teacher, was appointed the first director of the theatre. Eleven more performances were staged there before the building was closed for finishing works. In the midst of this, on 12 August 1881, a fire destroyed the copper dome, the auditorium, the curtain by František Ženíšek and the theatre stage.

The fire was perceived as a "national disaster" and sparked a huge commitment to new collections: in 47 days, one million gold coins were raised. A total of 45% of the people of Prague contributed to the collection. The building was completed after the fire by prof. arch. Josef Schulz. The rebuilt theatre was reopened on 18 November 1883 with a performance of Smetana's Libuše. Now the theatre had a new director, the writer František Adolf Šubert.