Mahen Theatre, built as German Deutsches Stadttheater in 1882, was one of the first public buildings in the world lit entirely by electric light.

Thanks to the efforts of then mayor Gustav Winterholler, the decision was taken to build a bigger and better theatre at the place of Obstplatz (today's Malinovský square).

In August 1881, a fire destroyed the copper dome, the auditorium and stage of the National Theatre in Prague.

The builders of the new theatre in Brno decided to take action in order to avoid similar incidents.

In the middle of 1881, Brno city council negotiated a contract with the Edison Electric Light Company.

The theatre was opened on 14 November 1882 with the festive overture Consecration of the House by Ludwig van Beethoven.

The opening celebration continued with the play "U paní Bruny", written by the German director of the theatre, Adolf Franckel, and ended with Goethe's Egmont.