The Central-European cities of the 18th century were rich in attractive theatres. Although there were theatre performances in Prague, they were performed either in buildings which were not built for this purpose or at private locations of noble people. The period of enlightenment however required universities and theatres, as they were considered to be most important for cultural and educational development. Among the enlighteners were enough people of considerable wealth willing to support and sponsor a theatre.

The splendid theatre was finished very quickly. In 1781 the cornerstone was laid and two years later came the first performance. Antonín Haffenecker designed it in neo-classical style. On the front wall is written "Patriæ et musæ" - For homeland and music, which indicates the aim of its founders. The theatre particularly drew attention in the 18th century with a special opera in Italian. The pride of its history is the world premiere of Don Giovanni, which was conducted by the composer himself, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. But the theatre had more important guests. At the beginning of the 19th century there was the renowned German musician and opera director Carl Maria von Weber and in 1828 there was a performance of the violin virtuoso Niccolo Paganini...

The repertoire consisted of works of the most impotant composers such as Verdi, Donizetti, Rossini, Beethoven, Wagner etc... A zenith was reached in 1848 with the premiere of Bianca a Giuseppe aneb Francouzi pred Nizzou (Bianca and Giuseppe or the French before Nizza), composed by the Czech J. B. Knittl from a libretto of Richard Wagner. The opera was performed three days before the February revolution in Paris. Also the repertoire of plays contained the best dramas of contemporary authors - Goethe, Schiller and others. From the classics was most loved Shakespeare. It is necessary to say that besides the great plays many average and lighter entertaining acts were performed also.

The Stavovské theatre is avaluable and unique architectural monument. Except for the ones in Brno and Teplice, all the theatres from the 18th century in Bohemia were either abolished, liquidated or completely rebuilt. The Stavovské theatre is one of the largest.