Public Open University Croatian House Petrinja

Public Open University Croatian House Petrinja is managing the cinema in Petrinja. The first travelling cinema screening in Petrinja took place on 26 February 1898 in the Halleger Hall. The official opening of a full-time cinematograph in Petrinja happened on 8 October 1911, the same day the electric power plant in Petrinja was launched into operation. The shows took place in the cinema located in Žitni trg, today’s City Market.

The longest cinema operating period was the one in the specially adapted and renovated cinema building called Jedinstvo, in 5 Turkulin Street. After the renovation of the cultural centre, when 470 seats and screening equipment were built in, the films were screened on this location since 1985.

After the Croatian War of Independence and the return to Petrinja, the damaged cinema equipment was repaired. The first screened film was the American history film Braveheart on 12 April 1996. The long cinema operating tradition in Petrinja unfortunately came to a halt in 2009, when films could no longer be screened on 35 mm due to the impossibility of repairing the equipment. The Petrinja cinema was digitised thanks to the efforts of the Croatian Audiovisual Centre and Ministry of Culture in 2015 and the films today are screened on a digital projector.