Croatian National Theatre, Split
The Croatian National Theatre in Split ( or HNK Split) is a theatre located in Split, Croatia. Originally opened in 1893, the theatre is owned and operated by the City of Split and is one of the oldest surviving theatres in Dalmatia. History The theatre building was originally constructed as the Split Municipal Theatre in 1893 during the tenure of then mayor Gajo Bulat. The building was designed by local architects Emilio Vecchietti and Ante Bezić while the interior decoration was done by Eugenio Scomparini, Napoleone Cozzi and Josip Varvodić. The theatre, which had a capacity of 1,000 (at a time when Split had a population of 16,000) was the biggest theatre in Southeast Europe at the time of its completion. The building was initially used to stage performances by traveling troupes (mostly Italian), as there was no full-time drama ensemble in the city of Split by the very end of the 19th century. The first professional theatre troupe appeared in 1920, when the building underwent its first renovation and when the theatre was renamed "Dalmatian National Theatre". In 1928 during the Kingdom of Yugoslavia the theatre was merged with the Sarajevo National Theatre and renamed "National Theatre for Western