The grandiose building of the Litomyšl theatre – Smetana House – was built between 1903 and 1905 according to designs by Jan Šula, Victorin Šulce and Josef Velfík, professors at the Czech State Polytechnic College in Plzeň and later in Prague. The new building replaced the historical baroque pub Karlov, originally built as a summer-villa in 1741, and from 1784 also functioning as a shooting gallery. In period, Smetana House, originally named “Národní”, was in period, alongside the somewhat older Plzeň Theatre the most modern theatre building in rural Bohemia.
The whole, drawn out process of the decision to build a theatre in Litomyšl was dramatic, almost tragic. Negotiations to build the theatre started four decades earlier in 1860 when the town announced a design competition for a building in the Olivetská Hora area, and which was won by the architect František Schmoranz sen. with a design in the Rundbogenstil style. However, the Austro-Prussian war and new town hall priorities, which concentrated on the building of a new school, put a stop to its construction.
In 1883, the Amateur Theatre Company set up a society for the building of a theatre, whose main task was to resolve financial issues and find a suitable site (Karlov, Hora Olivetská, today's Komenský Square, town orchard). In the 1890s, a range of designs for each area was produced, usually in the Neo-renaissance style. The next competition in 1902 produced the winning design, with Karlov as the chosen site, thanks also to support from Bürgermeister Jan Laub, local Mayor Čeněk Tobolář, Quido Šimek and others.
The ceremonial laying of the foundation stone was carried out on the 4th of April in 1903. The Karlov site on the left bank of the Loučná River features sloping terrain and rich mature greenery. The height difference means that the front facade has one extra storey more than the rear – garden facade. The layout of the floor plan is in a “U” shape with shortened arms – side Avant-corps, which create a shallow courtyard, accentuating the effect of the main facade, crowned with a relief of two putti holding a cartouche with the Litomyšl fleur-de-lis by Antonín Popp. The symmetry of building is disrupted by the northern domed roof, not dissimilar to the one on the National Theatre in Prague or the theatre in Plzeň. Both buildings share Smetana House's Neo-renaissance style, a popular style for buildings with a cultural mission. In this case, Neo-renaissance seems to be out of date. However, late Historicism suited the tastes of the local conservative public. The more current Art-nouveau was applied to the building only in small details (the porch over the entrance, metalwork, female mascaron and vegetative stucco ornamentation).
Great care was taken with the interior decoration, which was carried out by a range of significant artists. Special mention must be made here of the theatre curtain with the theme of Apotheosis of Music by František Urban, a pupil of František Ženíška, the rich relief decoration of the proscenium and gallery by Rudolf Hamršída, the stucco in the Great and Small Halls by Josef Kulhánek, etc.
An elegant reinforced concrete bridge construction, designed by Šula, Šulc and Velflík, complements the theatre, and was mentioned in the nation-wide periodical Architektonický obzor.
From 1995 to 1999, the whole building was subjected to an exemplary reconstruction with the cooperation of Prague architect, Vladimír Krátký.
AŠ
