Croatian national theatre. Ivan Zajc – significant municipal and regional cultural centre in Rijeka. Ivan Zajc, a native of Rijeka, whose name is the theatre, is a well-known Croatian conductor, teacher and composer.

The very first theatre in Rijeka was built in 1765, and in 1805 by the famous architect Andrey Adamič erected a new building. By 1883 Rijeka authority ordered the famous European architectural Bureau to modernize the building. Reconstruction was completed by 1885 and theatre, along with the new building received a new name, he became known as "the City theatre".

In 1913, the theater was again renamed in honor of the famous composer Giuseppe Verdi, in the same period, he got his own troupe. And three decades after that, the stage of the theatre sounds only Italian language.

In 1945 Rijeka was included in Croatia and in the theater were performed by the Croatian military and Patriotic songs, and Symphony orchestra played the national anthem of this country. Since then in Rijeka flourished during the development of ballet, drama and Opera.

The main part of the theater in the postwar years was considered merging companies "Tsar Nicholas" and "Otokar Kerkouane". The management did everything to create a national theatre in Rijeka, like the Zagreb theatre, and this meant that Opera and drama had to be on Croatian and Italian languages. This idea took shape with the new Director Dzh. Rosice.

In 1953, the theater gets the name Ivan Hare, and in 1991 - the status of the Croatian national theatre and stands in one row with four similar houses in the country.