That the first electric bulb in Rijeka shone in the then new building of today’s Croatian National Theatre Ivan pl. Zajc is a historical fact known to, we believe, everyone.
However, after the test of electric lighting in 1885, it was a large “magic chandelier” from Vienna that left the greatest impression on the specially-selected guests at the grand opening of the Fellner-Helmer theatre building in Rijeka, as newspapers later reported.
After the stucco, the ceiling decorations and the plastic decorations of the theatre boxes were completed, a magnificent chandelier made by Hess Wolff et Co. was installed in the center of the ceiling of the theatre. Surrounded by a wreath of ceiling paintings, imaginative allegorical compositions by Gustav and Ernst Klimt and Franz Matsch, the chandelier was breathtaking, especially in its full splendor, and continues to evoke similar reactions today.
Thanks to a special mechanism, the chandelier can be lowered to a level at which it can be cleaned and the bulbs replaced. This was also the case recently, during the renovation of the currently closed theatre building, when this brief recording of its re-raising from an unusual perspective was made. We liked it so much that we had to share it with you – what do you think?
