The Maribor Slovene National Theatre (Slovensko narodno gledališče Maribor) is one of Slovenia's two major national theatres, the other being in Ljubljana. It was founded in 1919, immediately after Slovenia became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, as part of a deliberate assertion of Slovenian cultural identity in a city where German had been the dominant language. The building itself is a handsome historicist structure from 1882, built when the city was still part of the Habsburg empire.
The theatre runs a full season of opera, drama, and ballet. Its opera productions in particular have a good reputation domestically and the venue attracts visiting companies from elsewhere in the region. If you have any Slovenian at all, or if the programme includes opera or ballet, an evening here gives you a very different view of the city from the tourist trail. Tickets are reasonably priced by Western European standards.