Black Sea Route
The Black Sea Route of the European Route of Historic Theatres proposes an excursion to the Eastern part of Europe, along the Black Sea, where you have the chance to visit some of the most beautiful theatres in Europe, deemed as real art monuments.
The first stop, in the Eastern part of the Black Sea, is at the Z. Paliashvili Opera and Ballet State Theatre Tbilisi in Georgia, opened in 1896. The building, projected by the architect Victor Schröter, is spectacular because of its Moorish architecture and decorations.In the Northern part of the Black Sea, in the Ukraine, you can find two of the most imposing buildings from the 42 theatres projected by the Viennese architects Fellner and Helmer: the National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre in Odessa and the Olga Kobylianska Ukrainian Regional Music and Drama Theatre in Chernivtsi.
Following the Black Sea contour line, in Romania the same famous Viennese architects designed the buildings of the Vasile Alecsandri National Theatre in Iasi and the Queen Marie Theatre in Oradea, that feature a mix of neo-classical style with elements from neo-Renaissance and neo-baroque styles. The Mihai Eminescu Old Theatre in Oravita, built between 1814 and 1816, is the first Romanian edifice raised to host performances. The Odeon Theatre in Bucharest, inaugurated in 1911, is a creation by the Romanian architect Grigore Cerchez. The last stop on the Black Sea Route is in Bulgaria at the Ivan Vazov National Theatre in Sofia, another masterpiece of the architects Fellner and Helmer which keeps in its original form the interior decorations.
Old Theatre Mihai Eminescu
Ivan Vazov National Theatre
Odeon Theatre
Olga Kobylianska Music and Drama Theatre
Vasile Alecsandri National Theatre
Odessa Opera and Ballet Theatre
Tbilisi Opera and Ballet Theatre
The European Route of Historic Theatres
Theatre has been a corner stone of European culture for over 2500 years. The buildings created for this art mirror our history. They can be found everywhere in Europe. Together they form a very special part of our common European heritage.
The “European Route of Historic Theatres” was initiated in 2007. It proved to be an excellent idea for travellers and theatres alike, and the European Commission agreed to support its extension to all of Europe until 2017.
Every six months, a new part of the European Route will open, until the European Route will be complete in 2016. It consists of 12 part routes, each comprising about 10 theatres, so that one can easily travel along any part route in a week (or see two or three theatres during a week-end trip).
The part routes of the European Route of Historic Theatres are:
- Iberia Route (Spain, Portugal)
- French Route
- Channel Route (Great Britain, Netherlands, Belgium)
- German Route
- Nordic Route (Sweden, Norway, Denmark)
- Baltic Route (Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Russia)
- Black Sea Route (Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece)
- Adriatic Route (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia)
- Emperor Route (Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary)
- Alpine Route (Southern Germany, Switzerland, Northern Italy)
- Italian Route I + II
As of autumn 2013, five part routes are already operating: the Nordic Route, the Channel Route, the German Route, the Emperor Route and the Italian Route I in northern Italy. In the following years, we are planning to open the next routes like this (subject to change):
Opening 2014: Adriatic Route and French Route
Opening 2015: Baltic Route and Iberia Route
Opening 2016: Alpine Route and Black Sea Route
More information: www.europeanroute.info