Theaters and Classical Music Venues

Nearly adjacent to the church of St. Ludmila, in the very popular residential neighborhood of Vinohrady, sits the equally popular Vinohrady Theater.

Opened in November 1907, finished after only two years of actual construction, this theater has been the perfect setting for some of the premiere drama productions in Prague over the past 100 years. Czech architect Jan Alois Censky won a 1902 contest for the design of the theater, and cooperated with sculptor Milan Havlicek to create a spectacular theater, which still manages to maintain a local feel, that Vinohrady residents take pride in. On the facade, the original allegory sculptures of Courage (with a sword) and Truth (with a mirror) are 8 meters high and weigh 18 tons each, however the sculptures currently displayed are copies made in 1996 for the better protection of the originals. The second floor facade boasts sculptured allegories of Opera, Ballet, Tragedy, and Comedy, which are the creation of Bohumil Kafka. The Vinohrady Theater’s opening production on November 24th, 1907 was a play by Jaroslav Vrchlicky based on the life of Lady Godiva. Since then, the theater has been home to all varieties of theatrical productions from popular comedies and dramas, to hosting visiting performing groups, housing cultural events, and producing notable musical performances. Over the past century this gorgeous Art Nouveau theater has housed them all, the classic and contemporary, the known and previously unknown alike. After a brief occupation and subsequent closure by the Nazis between 1941-1945, the Vinohrady Theater became the Central Theater for the Czechoslovak Army from 1950 - 1960 with the main goal of spreading Socialist ideals to the people, especially the youth of Prague. Always striving to be ahead of its time, however, the theater could always boast a star-studded cast and never failed in surprising its audiences. In 1965, then- theater director Frantisek Pavlicek succeeded in extracting the theater from the control of the Ministry of Defense and the Czechoslovak Army and it once more became the Vinohrady Theater. Main director Jindrich Gregorini and artistic director Martin Stropnicky are currently lending their not inconsiderable talents to the theater, which has recently put on such notables as Oscar Wilde’s An Ideal Husband and Moliere’s Tartuffe. With tickets and gift certificates available online or at the box office, and such a rich history, this theater is a perfect starter venue for newcomers to the Prague theater scene as well as regular Prague performance-goers interested in the classic and the modern.