)
An architectonical masterpiece built out of private donations in the Pseudo-Renaissance style, it is a symbol of the National Revival and one of the most important cultural sites in Prague. It was opened in 1881 and then mysteriously burned down a few weeks later, but the money for its reconstruction was collected in only 47 days and so another festive opening took place in 1883, welcoming the first Czech theatre in Prague. The architect Josef Zítek created an allegorical building collecting the best of all styles, but focusing on the 18th and early 19th century architecture. The new stage of National Theatre, the Laterna Magika, was built in the 1970s in the spirit of Modernism and its construction from Cuban marble and glass contrasts the conventional architecture of the classical Prague theatre.