City: Brussels
Country: Belgium

Bruxelles – Le théâtre de l’Alhambra

Extra information:

The largest and one of the oldest theaters in Brussels, opened in 1846 as the Théâtre du Cirque or Cirk-Schouwburg. The architect F. Pauwels had ensured a multipurpose building for both circus as well as theatre. It had a ring of 13,8 meters in diameter as well as stables. For the royal family there was a richly decorated royal box with two adjacent salons and a separate staircase and entrance. The opening with the troupe of Charles Gautiez took place on the 19th of September 1846.

It took the name of Alhambra in 1871, after major work following the vaulting of the river / stream the Senne. After the vaulting a new boulevard was created passing the building. It was then that a new entrance was built, on that boulevard called the Boulevard de la Senne (currently bd Emile Jacqmain). The street where the old entrance used to be is still named Circusstraat / Rue de Cirque.

At the time of this refurbishment, the Alhambra, which had long devoted itself to the Flemish repertoire, was mainly used for operetta. This stayed the dominant genre on this stage from 1887 to 1893.

The theatre closed in 1957 and was torn down in 1973. Nowadays the modern parking located in its place is called Alhambra Parking.