Novi Sad, Serbia: Serbian National Theatre

This is around an imaginary line of sorts between the old part of town and the rest of it. The Serbian National Theatre certainly makes a statement that it is up to date.

The Theatre dates back a long time. Most of the professional drama groups in this part of the world started in the 1860s. Novi Sad started to make its claim as the "Serbian Athens" with the organization. The actors tried to spread the word that good drama was an important part of the community, and they did it with missionary zeal.

This building went up in 1981, and looks good. You can see drama, opera and ballet here during the course of a season. The group has played all over Europe and won a bunch of awards over the years.