Slovenia’s historic Ptuj cinema gets upgrade

In an era where many small cinemas around the world are struggling to get by, the Ptuj city cinema has no problem attracting visitors.

The oldest still running cinema in Slovenia has recently undergone renovation and several new features have been added to make the visitor experience even better, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.

One of the oldest in the world, the cinema has been operating for 128 years. Renovation has been gradually going on for several years now, featuring works on the building facade and the addition of another auditorium, smaller in size to the main one.

However, the main part - a €240,000 upgrade of the main auditorium - has just been completed.

Nina Milošič, who runs the cinema, told the public broadcaster recently that everything in the auditorium has been refurbished, including the chairs. They bought a new projector and sound system.

The auditorium has retained its nostalgic elegant look with the velvet chairs keeping their red colour.

There is also an improvement in the cinema's accessibility, as it is now friendlier to people with physical and sensory disabilities.

A major new addition is a loop system, an assistive listening technology for people with hearing aids which allows the sound from the film to be delivered directly to the hearing aid and provides a much clearer and richer sound experience.

The renovated cinema can accommodate more people in wheelchairs as the first and last rows of seats are now removable.

The Ptuj cinema recorded 25,000 visitors in 2024, and now that it has been renovated, they expect film buffs to continue flooding in.

According to Milošič, the programme will continue to cater to both independent cinema enthusiasts and blockbuster lovers. In the future, she would like to see a museum dedicated to the cinema's long history housed in the building too.

A member of the Art Cinema Slovenia and Europa Cinemas networks, the Ptuj cinema hosted its first screening on 3 March 1897, not even two full years after the Lumiere brothers presented to the world their invention of Cinematographe, a portable camera, developer and projector that effectively kick-started the film industry.

Photo: Albin Bezjak Photography