11 Abandoned Theaters and Opera Houses Frozen in Time

4. Ópera Estatal de Praga – Prague, Czech Republic

Unlike many decaying theaters lost to time, the Prague State Opera stands in a strange limbo—caught between historical grandeur and long stretches of quiet neglect. Originally opened in 1888 as the Neues Deutsches Theater, this Neo-Renaissance masterpiece was designed to rival Vienna’s finest stages, complete with ornate stuccowork, sweeping balconies, and a massive chandelier crowning the auditorium like a frozen constellation. Over the decades, the building weathered empires, wars, and political upheaval, even serving as a Nazi cultural center during WWII. After communism fell, the theater slowly reclaimed its operatic legacy—but not without periods of eerie abandonment. For years at a time, its plush velvet seats sat empty, and the grand stage remained dark, awaiting long-overdue renovations. Now partially restored and occasionally used for performances, much of its backstage and auxiliary areas remain untouched—frozen in another century. Dusty dressing rooms, forgotten costumes, and chipped frescoes offer a haunting glimpse behind the curtain of one of Europe’s most beautiful, yet intermittently abandoned, opera houses.