The current theatre building was constructed in 1883, with the first building erected in 1765, in the big Ulmeny Square by the architects Herman Gottilieb Helmer and Ferdinand Fellmer. The theatre was opened in 1885 and it contains impressive statues and ornaments as well as painted ceilings by Croatian artists. The National Theatre was founded in 1945 and a play in the Croatian language was first played in 1946 on October the twentieth.