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In 2025, the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb will mark the 130th anniversary of its historical building, one of the most recognisable symbols of Croatian cultural heritage. This significant anniversary is held under the patronage of the Government of the Republic of Croatia, which additionally contributes to its significant for Croatian culture and art. The CNT in Zagreb is a masterpiece of the Viennese architects Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer. The theatre was opened on October 14, 1895, in the presence of Emperor Franz Joseph I.

For more than a century it has acted as the central place for artistic creation and has hosted some of the most significant moments in Croatian theatre history. The CNT in Zagreb has prepared a rich program that will mark this jubilee throughout the entire year.  
Already in January we marked the 100th performance of the hit show loved by the citizens of Zagreb One Song a Day Takes Mischief Away for children and youth in educational institutions in the Zagreb region. In January we also opened the renovated house of the drama artist Mila Dimitrijević in Mesićeva Street, a building she donated to her theatre for the accommodation of artists. There is a memorial room in the house dedicated to her artistic work.

In March one of the most performed ballets Giselle in this version choreographed by José Carlos Martínez will reach its 200th performance since the first staging of this ballet in Zagreb and on April 30, and May 3, 2025 we shall have two gala performances of this classical ballet in which the principals of the CNT in Zagreb will be accompanied by ballet stars of La Scala in Milan. 

The autumn will present several new projects that will offer the spectators a deeper insight into the rich history of the theatre. We can announce the opening of a pop-up theatre museum that will present the work of the theatre over the past 130 years with interactive and archival material. The new theatre tour Behind the curtain of the CNT in Zagreb will offer the visitors and exclusive insight into some building spaces that are otherwise hidden from the audience.

Special attention will be given to the opera program, so one of the most popular works of Croatian opera literature Ero the Joker by Jakov Gotovac will be performed at a Gala evening in October. On that occasion there will be an exhibition about the composer Jakov Gotovac whose 130th birth anniversary will also be marked this year. The audience at the CNT in Split will have the opportunity to see the guest performance of opera Stanac by Gotovac as well as our audience here in Zagreb, which will connect the two cities of rich theatre tradition.
The central celebration will take place on the day when the building was opened 130 years ago. On Tuesday, October 14, 2025 at 2 p.m. we shall promote a lavish monograph dedicated to the history of the building. Almost twenty authors – academicians, theatre scholars, musicologists and prominent experts are working on it and they will offer a comprehensive overview of the history, development and significance of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb. In the evening of that same day, the awarding ceremony of the Tito Strozzi Award will take place, an award granted to the most prominent artistic achievement of the CNT in Zagreb in the previous season.
At the end of the year, in November, the new stage of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb in Božidar Adžija Street will open its doors and this will symoblise a historical step forward  of the central Croatian theatre.

The Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb invites its visitors to join this jubilee which will connect the history, the present time and the future of one of the most significant cultural institutions in the Republic of Croatia.