Schouwburg Kortrijk

Schouwburg Kortrijk is an 823-seat performance house in Kortrijk whose Grote Zaal can convert into a 1,000-person concert room: 600 people stand on the parterre while 400 sit in the balconies. That transformation gives the formal, Italian-style auditorium two concert modes—focused seated listening for jazz, classical and songwriter sets, plus a floor-level crowd for amplified shows. Its original design also included a mobile parterre floor that could rise flush with the stage, turning the hall into one large event space.

A theatre built to move

The theatre rose on the site of a 17th-century monastery after years of civic discussion: the project received its go-ahead in 1911, architect Jan Robert Vanhoenacker took the commission, and the doors opened on 27 November 1920. Heritage records describe the 1912–20 building as neo-Flemish Renaissance in style and identify it as a protected monument. Its original auditorium held over 1,300 people, with a parterre, two balconies and gallery facing a proscenium stage.

A radical 1968 renovation reopened with Peter Benoit’s Rubens Cantata. Contractor De Coene gave the room a sixties interior, replacing the glass dome with a Murano chandelier, eliminating the boxes, adding a foyer wing and reducing seating to 850. The latest major chapter began with a three-year renovation; the venue is scheduled to reopen on 4 November 2026 with a five-day festival, including the first concert in the revived flat-floor configuration.

The room after reopening

Schouwburg Kortrijk programs about 200 events and projects a season across theatre, dance, performance, circus, family work, music and comedy. For concertgoers, the music offer spans pop, jazz, folk, rock, indie, classical, alternative and R&B within that wider performing-arts schedule. The house also rents space, balancing local semiprofessional groups with commercial organizers. In the Grote Zaal, choose the standard 823-seat setup for balconies and fixed auditorium viewing; selected dates use the 600-standing parterre and 400 balcony seats. A new Schouwburgcafé is part of the reopening plan.