A cinema-theatre from 1913 in Katowice with a classicist facade, today the Silesia Film arthouse cinema with concerts and performances.
The Rialto cinema-theatre (Kinoteatr Rialto) at ul. św. Jana 24 in Katowice has been operating since 15 January 1913, that is, for over a hundred years. Today it is run by Instytucja Filmowa Silesia Film, a cultural institution of the Silesian Voivodeship self-government. Rialto is an arthouse cinema, and its stage and auditorium also host concerts, performances and meetings.
The cinema was built in 1912 as the Kammerlichtspiele. It was put up by the master builder Martin Tichauer together with the merchant Berthold Kochmann, owner of the plot on what was then Johannstrasse. The newspapers praised it as the largest and most elegant cinema in Silesia. It had a freestanding building, a spacious lobby, wide stairs to the balcony and an auditorium for 800, decorated with a Czech crystal chandelier, as well as space for a twenty-piece orchestra. The cinema's website stresses that the building had many features of a cinema palace, even though Katowice then had only about 43 thousand inhabitants.
In 1928 the cinema was renamed Rialto. A year later, on 17 December 1929, the first sound film in the Polish part of Upper Silesia, “The Singing Fool”, was shown here. In 1930 the facade was rebuilt and the number of seats increased to 1,050. In 1938 the leaseholders changed the name to Słońce, and in 1939-1945 the cinema was called UFA-Theater Rialto. The cinema's website also describes it as a Jewish-run cinema which in 1933 joined the boycott of German films from the Ufa concern.
After 1945 the cinema was nationalised. In the 1950s the facade was clad in black glass and decorated with neon, and on 29 April 1959 the reopening of the renovated cinema was marked by the premiere of the western “Rancho Texas”. In the Polish People's Republic, Rialto was one of the most prestigious first-run cinemas in the city, alongside Zorza, and its auditorium hosted films of the Film Confrontations festival. In 1994 “The Lion King” drew, according to the cinema's website, an audience of 90 thousand here. Archive photographs and documents of this history come, among other sources, from the collections of the Katowice History Museum.
A thorough renovation was carried out in 2004-2005. The classicist facade from the early 20th century was restored, the screen and stage were rebuilt and the interiors were refurbished. The building has three storeys and a roof with a wrought-iron structure. The facade has pilasters and a triangular pediment, and above the entrance a rectangular relief of a Roman quadriga. The building is entered in the municipal register of monuments of Katowice.
In the auditorium the classic seats downstairs were replaced with chairs and tables, which allow the layout to be changed depending on the event. The balcony with 140 seats was also preserved. The screen measures 9.5 by 4 m. In 2019 the interiors and the foyer were renovated, and an Art Deco wallpaper appeared on the walls. Cafe Rialto operates on the ground floor.
Since October 2006 the cinema has belonged to the Network of Arthouse and Local Cinemas, and since October 2013 to the Europa Cinemas network. It shows European arthouse cinema in 4K, silent films with live music, concerts, performances and educational series. Regular series include Rialto DOCumentalnie, Scena Muzyczna Rialto and Lekcje Filmowe. The cinema also organises the Katowice Mountain Film Review.
In the immediate area stands the Stanisław Wyspiański Silesian Theatre, about 400 m from the cinema.
About 600 m from here lies the Cathedral of Christ the King.
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