The HNK, opened in 1895 by Emperor Franz Joseph, is a textbook Habsburg-era theatre — neo-baroque, butter-yellow, columns and statues marching along the facade — by the Viennese architects Hellmer and Fellner, who designed nearly forty similar theatres across Central Europe. The interior is gold-leafed and red-velvet, with three tiers of boxes and excellent acoustics.
It is the home of the Croatian National Opera and Ballet and a full theatre company, with productions running most evenings from autumn through early summer. Tickets are surprisingly affordable by Western European standards. In front of the theatre sits Ivan Meštrović's bronze Well of Life, one of his most evocative early works.