A revolving auditorium is a mechanically controlled seating area within a theatre

Theatre

Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...

 which can be rotated in order to manipulate the change of scenery and stage sets during the performance. Revolving auditoriums are favoured by open-air theatres in particular, because they are ideally suited for the use of natural scenery as an integral part of the set.

The first revolving auditoriums in Europe were built in 1959 in Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 and the Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

 (then Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

), respectively. The auditorium in Pyynikin Kesäteatteri

Pyynikin kesäteatteri

Pyynikin Kesäteatteri is an open-air theatre operating in Tampere, Finland, known especially for its revolving auditorium...

, Tampere

Tampere

Tampere is a city in southern Finland. It is the most populous inland city in any of the Nordic countries. The city has a population of , growing to approximately 300,000 people in the conurbation and over 340,000 in the metropolitan area. Tampere is the third most-populous municipality in...

, was the first of its kind to be powered by electrical machinery, whereas the auditorium in the old Baroque Castle Gardens in Český Krumlov

Český Krumlov

Český Krumlov is a small city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic, best known for the fine architecture and art of the historic old town and Český Krumlov Castle...

, South Bohemia, required 40 people to power its movements.