best, with great acoustics and richly decorated interiors depicting ancient Greek gods and musical themes, painted by Italian artists. It also functioned as a social gathering place where high society gathered for dances and balls. Its official opening date was 7 December 1902, with Wagner's opera Lohengrin as the inaugural performance. Kaiser Wilhelm II also attended performances while vacationing at his Achilleion palace. In 1907 the Old Philharmonic of Corfu rendered a symphony in a performance which received much acclaim from the audience. From 19 January 1916 through to 19 November 1918, the theatre also served as the place of assembly for the Serbian Parliament in exile, and the decision for the creation of the new united Kingdom of Yugoslavia was taken there. In 1923, refugees from Asia Minor were accommodated in the theatre boxes. During the first quarter of the twentieth century, many Italian operas were performed at the theatre. This tradition came to a halt following the bombardment of Corfu in 1923 by the Italians. After the bombardment the theatre featured Greek operas as well as Greek theatre performances by distinguished Greek actors such as Marika Kotopouli and Pelos Katselis. The cost of the building escalated to about 1,000,000 British golden sovereigns, a huge amount at the time; its amortization was arranged for 1941. Two years later, on the night of 13 September 1943, the theatre was destroyed in a bombing raid by Hitler's Luftwaffe. The archives of the theatre, including the historical San Giacomo archives, all valuables and art were destroyed in the bombing with the sole exception of the stage curtain, which was not in the premises the night of the bombing and thus escaped harm; among the losses are believed to have been numerous manuscripts of the work of Spyridon Xyndas, composer of the first opera in Greek. The remains of the building were considered to be without historical or other value and were condemned following a decision by the supervising architect Ioannis Kollas and civil engineers Georgios Linardos and Renos Paipetis. On 31 May 1952, mayor Stamatis Desyllas and the city council unanimously decided to demolish the theatre despite widespread public protests and legal challenges. Gallery References External links Virtual reality tour of the Municipal theatre of Corfu from Ionian University Theatres completed in 1902 Opera houses in Greece Buildings and structures in Corfu (city) Former theatres in Greece Buildings and structures destroyed during