Attraction

Juliusz Słowacki Theatre in Krakow: tour tickets and history

Built in 1891-1893 to a design by Jan Zawiejski and modelled on the Paris Opera, the theatre has operated without a break since 1893. Its guided tour includes the imperial box, in which Emperor Franz Joseph never sat.

Since 1893 the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre in Krakow (Teatr im. Juliusza Słowackiego) has operated without a break, first under the name Municipal Theatre. Its building with the Duża Scena, the stage for large productions, stands at plac Świętego Ducha 1, about 150 m from Florian Gate. You can see the interior at a performance or on a paid guided tour, which the theatre's guides lead in Polish only.

Address: plac Świętego Ducha 1, 31-023 Krakow
Tickets: a guided tour ticket costs 30 zł (as listed in October 2026), sold online or at the theatre box office.
Accessibility: the tour route has many stairs and places without a lift, so it is not adapted for wheelchair users.

Juliusz Słowacki Theatre guided tour: tickets and rules

The theatre's own guides lead the tour. They talk about the history and architecture of the theatre and about theatre customs, and they take the group to places that are normally closed to the audience. The route includes the vestibule (the entrance hall), the foyer, the imperial box, Henryk Siemiradzki's curtain and the curtain known as Kurtyna Kobiet (the Women's Curtain). The guides lead the tours in Polish only.

As listed in October 2026, a tour ticket costs 30 zł. You can buy it online. At the theatre box office it is sold half an hour before the tour starts, subject to availability. The theatre may cancel a tour if the group has fewer than 10 people.

The tour route has many stairs and places without a lift. For this reason it is not adapted for wheelchair users, and it may be difficult for people on crutches or for anyone who has trouble with stairs.

Tour dates and prices change; check the current details on the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre website before your visit.

The Juliusz Słowacki Theatre building and its curtains

The building was modelled on the Paris Opera. The motto on the façade reads "Krakow for the National Arts" in the theatre's English translation. The attic of the west front, a decorative wall along the top of the façade, follows the pattern of the attic of the nearby Cloth Hall (Sukiennice). The attic is decorated with mascarons, which are carved faces.

Frescoes by the Viennese artist Anton Tuch decorate the interiors. A decorative chandelier with 120 light bulbs hangs above the auditorium. When the building opened, the auditorium had about 940 seats. Today it holds 611 spectators.

Seats in the stalls, on the two levels of boxes and in the top gallery, known in Polish as the jaskółka (swallow), were divided according to the social and financial status of the audience. There were even separate staircases. Next to the stage is the dressing room of the actor Ludwik Solski, with drawings and autographs of artists from the 19th and 20th centuries.

A curtain painted by Henryk Siemiradzki in 1892-1894 separates the auditorium from the stage. It is an oil painting on canvas that shows an allegorical scene. Its figures include Inspiration, Beauty and Truth, Tragedy, Comedy with a jester, Eros, the Furies and Phantoms. The curtain was raised for the first time on 10 April 1894.

Since 2018 the theatre has had a second decorative curtain. The painter Tadeusz Bystrzak made it from Stanisław Wyspiański's sketch Z moich fantazyj (From My Fantasies).

On the first floor, facing the stage, is the formal "imperial" box, in which Emperor Franz Joseph never sat. Other guests of honour sat in the box, among them Marshal Józef Piłsudski, President Ignacy Mościcki and Marshal Ferdinand Foch. During the Second World War the Germans seized the theatre building. At performances marked "Nur für Deutsche" (for Germans only), representatives of the German occupation authorities sat in the imperial box.

From Municipal Theatre to Juliusz Słowacki Theatre

The decision to build the theatre was highly controversial, and more than ten locations were proposed. To make room for the theatre, the medieval buildings connected with the Holy Spirit hospital (szpital Świętego Ducha) were demolished. Jan Matejko had fought fiercely to preserve the monuments on this site. In protest he gave up his title of honorary citizen of Krakow.

The building was constructed in 1891-1893 to a design by Jan Zawiejski. The theatre describes it as one of the most valuable examples of theatre architecture in Europe. It was called the Municipal Theatre and was meant to bear the name of Count Aleksander Fredro. In 1909 the theatre received the name of the poet Juliusz Słowacki, in the centenary of his birth.

By the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries the Municipal Theatre already served as a national stage. Stanisław Wyspiański worked at the Municipal Theatre and staged most of his works there. The first performances of Wyspiański's The Wedding (1901) and Liberation (1903) took place on this stage, and the theatre counts them among the most important events in the history of Polish culture.

The first productions of Kordian, Forefathers' Eve (Dziady) and The Un-Divine Comedy (Nie-Boska komedia), masterpieces of Polish Romanticism, also took place in the theatre. In 1921 Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, known as Witkacy, made his debut on this stage. Actors here included Helena Modrzejewska, Irena Solska, Ludwik Solski, Juliusz Osterwa, Stefan Jaracz, Tadeusz Łomnicki and Gustaw Holoubek. Krystian Lupa, Maja Kleczewska, Agnieszka Olsten, Agata Duda-Gracz and Paweł Miśkiewicz directed their first productions at the theatre.

Near the theatre: Jan Matejko House and the Museum of Pharmacy

In a straight line, the Jan Matejko House is about 150 m from the theatre. The Krakow Barbican and the Museum of Pharmacy are both about 200 m away.

Juliusz Słowacki Theatre: questions visitors ask

Is there a guided tour of the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre in English?

No. The theatre's guides lead the tour in Polish only (as listed in October 2026).

When did the Municipal Theatre become the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre?

In 1909, the centenary of the poet's birth. During construction, the theatre was meant to bear the name of Count Aleksander Fredro.

Who painted the curtain of the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre?

Henryk Siemiradzki painted the curtain between the auditorium and the stage in 1892-1894. A second decorative curtain, made by Tadeusz Bystrzak from a sketch by Stanisław Wyspiański, has belonged to the theatre since 2018.