National Theatre of Warsaw

The Teatr Narodowy on Plac Teatralny is Poland's oldest public theatre and shares its classicist building with the Polish National Opera. The institution was founded in 1765 by Poland's last king, Stanislaw August Poniatowski, during the Polish Enlightenment as a deliberate move to give Polish-language drama a permanent home. The present building was designed by Antonio Corazzi from 1825 to 1833; it was almost completely destroyed by bombing in the Second World War and rebuilt in the 1960s. Today the company focuses on Polish classics from Slowacki to Mrozek, with a traditional house acoustic. Visitors can explore the foyer and a small exhibition on theatre history in the Wojciech Boguslawski hall before a performance.