Tromsø Kulturhus

KulturHuset opened officially on 14 January 1984, ending nearly fifteen years in which Tromsø had no proper theatre and concert venue: the old "Arbeidern", the town's big room, burned down in the spring of 1969. The founding of Hålogaland Teater in Tromsø in 1971 pushed the question of a replacement, and once the University of Tromsø came in as a partner and Tromsø Arbeiderforening gave its site free of charge, the city council resolved on 17 November 1976 to build a multi-purpose house. Construction began in March 1981. The building stands by Stortorget and is made of board-formed in-situ concrete, a technique suited to the northern climate and one that keeps the imprint of the rough timber. In the main hall the boarding varies in thickness and width for acoustic reasons, up to five centimetres of relief in the herringbone pattern on the side walls. Birch is the second material throughout — parquet floors, and every fitting people actually touch — while the great vestibule has a pink Fauske marble floor picked up in the coloured glazes Fritz Fuchs devised for the house. The façades are dark hard-fired brick. There are three stages plus the gallery: Hovedscenen, lillescenen and Forum, the foyer, with Galleriet on the second floor where the audience entrances to the main hall are. Verkstedet was retired as a stage in the summer of 2019. Café Sånn is in the building, and its door to the public area opens whenever there is an event on. The house also programmes two partner arenas, Kulturarena and Rådstua Teaterhus. The programme mixes Arktisk Filharmoni's symphonic seasons, Riksteatret's touring productions, stand-up, Norwegian pop and rock, jazz, the Tromsø World Festival and the TIFF film festival. Tromsø Kulturhus is run by Tromsø kommune.