The National Theatre ”I.L.Caragiale” from Bucharest

In 1834, the Philharmonic Society is founded, at the initiative of Ion Câmpineanu and Ion Heliade Rădulescu. This is the first important point in the history of the National Theatre. In 1836, the Câmpinencii Inn is bought by the Philharmonic Society, in order to build here the National Theatre, a project that is approved by Alexandru Ghica 4 years later.

The building is constructed in a baroque style, on the land that is now occupied by the Novotel Hotel. The Theater is opened in 1852, under the directorship of Costache Caragiale. The first performance takes place on the last day of that year, December 31^st (”Zoe sau Un amor românesc”). In 1864. The Theater (named at that time “The Great Theatre”) is declared a public institution of culture, because of a decree signed by the prime minister of the time, Mihail Kogălniceanu.

In 1875, on the frontispiece of the building, appears the name of the institution – The National Theatre – as per request of the director Alexandru Odobescu. Between 1879 and 1918, numerous premieres of well-known theatrical pieces, which are engrained in the Romanian culture, will take place here: ”O noapte furtunoasă”, ”O scrisoare pierdută” (I.L.Caragiale) or ” Ovidiu” (Vasile Alecsandri).

The theatre continues to evolve in the first half of the 20^th century, having even a museum founded here, in 1942. However, just 2 years after this event, on August 26^th 1944, the building of the National Theatre is destroyed after a German airstrike that targeted the Telephone Palace, but missed. The theater continues to work with lent halls: the “Studio” Hall and the Comedy Hall, and it will receive the name of I.L. Caragiale, at its’ centenary. The terrain on which the old building was remained a wasteland until 1990, when the Novotel Hotel was built there.

The National Theatre will change its’ residence in December 1973, when a new building will be inaugurated, next to the University. This has 3 halls: Sala Mare, Sala Mică și Sala Atelier. A fire takes place in 1978 in Sala Mare, after which Nicolae Ceaușescu will request the hall to be remodeled, and a new one will appear, called Sala Amfiteatru.

In 2012, a new renovation process starts, that will eliminate the elements added during the communist era, for safety reasons. The number of halls is raised to 7, and the official reopening takes place close to the end of 2014. The National Theatre is a symbol of the Romanian culture and of Bucharest, because of its’ rich history and the multitude of personalities that step foot on its’ scenes.