Ptuj, City Theatre And Orpheus Monument Editorial Image

Ptuj is considered to be one of the oldest towns in Slovenia. The theatre building, which dominates the central road connection between the western and eastern part of the town, appeared in the very centre of the medieval urban design. Until the fire in the mid-18th century, the site next to the parish church was occupied by the provost’s house. It is thought that the construction of a theatre building was in 1786 commissioned by the aristocracy of Ptuj and its surroundings, together with the town inhabitants. In the 18th and 19th centuries performances by German and Italian travelling comedians and theatre groups that first began visiting Ptuj in the early 18th century were staged in the theatre then known as Städtisches Comödienhaus. The oldest preserved flyer that bears witness to the activities of the Ptuj theatre was printed in 1798. In spite of numerous later renovations, the building to this day remains the most beautiful example of a small Baroque town theatre in Slovenia.