Croatian National Theatre "Ivan pl. Zajc"

If you do not cross the Rječina, continue exploring the centre of Rijeka. You will now be quite close to the National Theatre (Hrvatsko narodno kazalište Ivana pl. Zajca). It was built in 1885 as a city theatre according to the design of the specialised Vienna Helmer and Fellner workshop, which designed similar buildings throughout the Austro-Hungary of the time. Matsch, Kauffungen and Fritsch, and the Klimt brothers, permanent associates of the workshop, were charged with equipping the theatre, contributing to the pronounced central European atmosphere of the town. The exterior is adorned by figurative compositions of Music and Drama by Venetian sculptor Benvenutti. The opening of the theatre was marked by a performance of Verdi's Aida. In a town which, at the time, was not supplied with electric current, the autonomous system of electric supply installed in the theatre by the Vienna Kremenczky company was a real sensation. On the square in front of the theatre stand the statue of Croatian composer Ivan pl. Zajc and a fountain with a sculpture by D. Džamonja. The theatre today houses the opera, the ballet and Croatian and Italian drama.