Theatre arts first appeared in Chernivtsi with the annexation of
Bukovina by the
Habsburg Monarchy at the end of the 18th century. The first theatrical production in the city took place in 1784, when an Italian
shadow theater visited the city. At the time, there was no specialized theater space, so performances were held in public places. In 1876, first stationary, wooden theater was built in the city, which served its purpose until it was deemed unsafe in 1904. In 1897, a special commission tasked with organizing the construction of the theater was formed. Fellner & Helmer Architectural Bureau was commissioned to draft the project. In 1900,
Ferdinand Fellner came to Chernivtsi to assist the planning process. Originally, Soborna (Austria) Square was chosen as a location for the theater, but was later changed to Teatralna (Elizabeth) Square. According to the agreement, the project was ready by May 1902. At the same time, the city was not ready, as it did not have the required amount of funds. On 30 May 1904,
Hermann Helmer arrived in Chernivtsi, from whom the final version of the project was purchased, with an estimated construction costs of 600,000 kronen. On 1 August 1904, the "first stone" was laid. The construction work was carried out by the Fellner & Helmer bureau, and the works were directly supervised by the vice burgomaster Joseph Gregor. The grand opening of the new theater took place on 3 October 1905 with a performance of play "Maria Theresa". In 1907, a monument to a German poet and playwright
Friedrich Schiller was opened in front of the entrance to the building. After the
annexation of Northern Bukovina by
Romania in 1918, a campaign against Austrian heritage began. In January 1922, organized by the local administration, a group of young Romanian chauvinists disrupted a performance of an Austrian actor
Aleksandër Moisiu, who was touring in Chernivtsi. The youths tore down the German inscriptions, hung up the Romanian tricolor, and forced the actors and the audience to move into the building of the
Chernivtsi Music Society. At the same time, the local authorities used the incident to take the building away from the city community. On 1 February 1922, the theater was transformed into "Teatrul Național". In addition, the local German community was forced to dismantle the Schiller monument, which was moved with a funeral procession to the territory of the German People's House. In 2003, "Golden Applause of Bukovyna" yearly comedy festival was founded. In 2005, marking the 100th anniversary of the theater a commemorative silver coin depicting the theater was released by the National Bank of Ukraine. In 2023, a new workshop stage, oriented at smaller scale experimental plays, was opened in the nearby building of the Austrian era electrical substation. Later that year a small "panorama stage" was opened on the third floor of the theater. In 2023, the theater reported attendance of forty-one thousand. == Architecture ==