1803–1993
Theatre fires tend to be spectacular, and the destruction can be an impulse for radical change. If it had not been for the great fire of Lublin in 1803, Łukasz Rodakiewicz might not have embarked on the construction of a theatre.
In 1827, the unfinished roof prevented the entire building from burning down in a fire sparked by the special effects used in a performance. Five years later, all the decorations and dressing rooms were consumed in another fire. In 1845, the fire risk in the building was assessed as of the second and third (the highest) degree, and in 1875, metal netting was installed above the light fittings and along the stage to “prevent the artists from catching a fire”.
Two fires, on two consecutive days in 1993, gutted the theatre, destroying the first-floor level of compartment boxes (gallery) and damaging the wooden ceiling and the balustrade.
