Horácké divadlo v Jihlavě Theatre building

Horácké divadlo v Jihlavě is a permanent professional drama scene of the Vysočina Region with over 80 years of tradition. The current building on the corner of Komensky and Theatre was completed in 1995. It is the first stone theatre built in the Czech Republic for more than a hundred years.

The history of the Jihlava Theatre goes far into the past; The German scene is already documented in 1740. In 1792 it was played in the former hospital church of Saint Elizabeth. The first Czech performance took place in 1840, when the group of M. Saydlerová introduced the game Czech and German in the hall of the House of Three Princes. In 1849, Johan Okonski purchased the decrepit building of the Capuchin monastery with the church of St. Francis and converted it into a theatre. This building was subsequently purchased by the city in 1865. The Horacký Theatre itself was created as a Czech scene in Vysočina in 1940. On October 18, the Court of Love began its work in Trebič. During World War II, the theatre was closed by German authorities, but in May 1945 it moved permanently to Jihlava.

The current complex was built between 1992 and 1995 according to the design of architects Václav Králiček, Vladimir Krátý, Tomas Brix, Miroslav Melen and Jan Vančura. The construction uses modern design methods and offers variable space. The building includes a large scene with a capacity of 315 seats, a small scene for 80 spectators, a theatre club, a cafe and a multifunctional rehearsal room.

The ownership of the theatre went to the city Jihlava in 1865, since 2003 it has been the founder of Vysočina Region. An important event in the history of the building was a visit of emperor Franz Joseph I in 1866. In modern history, the object was visited by the then President of the Czech Republic Václav Havel on March 7, 1996. During extensive reconstruction and completion in the 1990s, the artistic ensemble was forced to operate in the spare premises of the theatre of the psychiatric hospital Na Kopěkku.

Today, the theatre has a set of 21 members, and on average 10 prime ministers report a year. Since 2024, there has been a second set called HD _ Jee, which focuses on children and young audiences. The quality of the art work is confirmed by the nominations for the Theatre Critics Prize in the category of the Theatre of the Year 2020 as well as the individual achievements of actors such as Michal Krause and Lenka Schreiber at the Thalia Prize.

The Horácké Theatre represents an important cultural centre of the region, which successfully links a long tradition with modern traffic requirements. Visiting this place offers the opportunity to become familiar with the quality of theatrical creation in the premises, which are a unique example of Czech theatre architecture at the end of the twentieth century.