Bioscoop Carolus

Bioscoop Carolus, originally named Carolus Theater and later Vue Nijmegen Plein, was a cinema located at Plein 1944 in Nijmegen, Netherlands. It opened on 27 August 1954 and was the oldest operating cinema in Nijmegen at the time of its closure in 2022. The building, with two auditoriums, is noted as an example of post-war reconstruction architecture. The cinema was opened by Mayor Charles Hustinx in the presence of over six hundred guests and press. The opening film was Roman Holiday, preceded by a short film on Dutch architecture by Jan Hulsker. The theatre was designed by architect H. van Vreeswijk and built by N.V. Bouwsyndicaat. It was intended to exude class and luxury, with comfortable seating and good image and sound quality. The original facade featured shock concrete with a washed French limestone finish, framed by two long masts with neon lighting. The interior included a spacious hall with a semi-circular box office, a symmetrical foyer, and a large auditorium with an ogee-shaped ceiling adorned with 27 illuminated stars. The cinema initially seated 608 guests across four tiers. Over the years, it underwent changes, including the introduction of Cinemascope. It closed in 2022, marking the end of an era for Nijmegen's cultural life.

Bioscoop Carolus, originally named Carolus Theater and later Vue Nijmegen Plein, was a cinema at Plein 1944 in Nijmegen, Netherlands. It opened on 27 August 1954 and closed in 2022, being the oldest operating cinema in Nijmegen at the time of closure. The building, with two auditoriums, is characterized as an example of post-war reconstruction architecture. As a result of war violence in 1944, Nijmegen lost four cinemas. The Chicago Bioscope and City were destroyed during the bombing of 22 February 1944. Olympia and Luxor went up in flames during the liberation days (known as the Battle of Nijmegen) from 17 to 21 September. Only Concertgebouw de Vereeniging, which had also served as a cinema since 1927, was spared. In 1948, the N.V. Theater Maatschappij of the Nederlandsche Bioscoop Trust, owner of two of these cinemas, commissioned architect Ir. H. van Vreeswijk from Zeist to rebuild the destroyed Chicago Bioscope. On 26 May 1953, the mayor and aldermen of Nijmegen granted permission to build a film theatre on the south wall of Plein 1944. This square was to become the new meeting place of the city. The new theatre, intended solely for film projection in a large auditorium, was to exude class and luxury, with good image and sound. The more than six hundred visitors were offered a high degree of comfort, with spacious seats and good facilities. A cozy and festive atmosphere was also expected. Construction took over a year and was carried out by N.V. Bouwsyndicaat from The Hague. The total cost was ƒ356,920. To limit maintenance costs, durable materials were mainly used. On Friday 27 August 1954, Mayor Charles Hustinx opened the theatre for over six hundred invited guests and press, after which a short film by Jan Hulsker about Dutch architecture and the opening film Roman Holiday were shown. A reception at Concertgebouw de Vereeniging concluded the opening. The cinema was seen as a jewel in Nijmegen's cultural life. The original facade consisted largely of a shock concrete base with a washed French limestone finish. The base was framed by two long masts, with two flagpoles on top. Orange-red neon lighting was mounted in the masts, colorfully illuminating the semi-circular niches in the evening. At the bottom of the masts were two display cases with advertising material, made of anodized aluminum in brass color. The canopy consisted of a concrete roof with a white-lit light box underneath to announce the film offerings. The facade was largely clad with beige glazed stoneware tiles from De Porceleyne Fles in The Hague, to mimic the glamour of feature films. The vertical columns were clad with light-colored Arabescato-Milano marble, the plinth with dark Swedish granite. The name of the theatre was placed on top of the facade in blue-yellow neon letters in the Libra typeface. The display cases and the 'C' of the letters on the roof edge were crowned by the imperial crown, a reference to Charlemagne, Carolus Magnus. Six entrance doors in brass color gave access to the hall and box office. The theatre's facade was illuminated in the evening with much red, blue, yellow and white neon lighting that reflected in the glazed stones, and orange-yellow sodium lamps that lit the hall in a warm color. The architect aimed to combine "advertising in stone" with architecture. The spacious, twelve-meter-high hall was meant to overwhelm the visitor. The floor consisted of dark Norwegian Obdal and golden Italian quartzite. In the center of the hall was a semi-circular box office, made of the same materials as the facade. On the side walls, partly clad with the same glazed tiles, hung two large display cabinets to announce the film offerings. High in the hall was a loggia, from which hanging plants grew and covered a large part of the wall above the box office. On either side of the box office, several Wengé wooden doors gave access to the vestibule and then the foyer. The symmetrical foyer with elegantly shaped ceiling and a cove with indirect neon lighting served as a waiting area. The walls were covered with Swiss cloth, painted with oil paint in a light pink natural tint. On the floor was a dark red frisé carpet. In the foyer were the bar, a small cloakroom, two toilet groups, and several seating areas. There was also an aquarium and telephone booth for guests. Along the walls one could sit on benches of beige Rexine leather, besides which there were several seating areas with chairs in pastel blue fabric with yellow stripe, and maple tables. Via two stairs in the foyer, the middle of the large auditorium is reached. Characteristic of this hall is the ogee-shaped ceiling and the 27 illuminated stars in deep relief. The stars were very dimly lit during performances, thus always visible and referring to the 'stars on the screen'. Outside performances, the stars serve as basic lighting. This form of ceiling gives the hall excellent acoustic qualities. In the cove along the stars, sky-blue neon lighting was placed, in the cove along the wall light pink neon lighting. The walls were paneled with mahogany, with above it padded ivory-colored synthetic cloth. This also benefited the acoustics. This hall initially seated 608 guests in four different ranks: parterre, loges, balcony and baignoire. For the comfort of the guest, the seats were a few centimeters wider than normal theatre seats. In front of the projection screen hung a golden-yellow velvet curtain, bordered by golden trim. During construction, the Cinemascope image format was introduced in the Netherlands. This had as...

• 2022

  The cinema closes, being the oldest operating cinema in Nijmegen at that time.

• 1954

  On 27 August, Mayor Charles Hustinx opens the theatre; opening film is Roman Holiday.

• 1953

  On 26 May, mayor and aldermen grant permission to build a film theatre at Plein 1944.

• 1948

  N.V. Theater Maatschappij commissions architect H. van Vreeswijk to rebuild the destroyed Chicago Bioscope.

• 1944

  Nijmegen loses four cinemas due to war violence; Chicago Bioscope and City destroyed on 22 February, Olympia and Luxor on 17-21 September.

Luxury and class cinema with comfortable seating and good image and sound quality.

• Film screenings

  The cinema showed films in a large auditorium with 608 seats.

• Cinemascope

  The Cinemascope image format was introduced in the Netherlands during the construction of the cinema.

1. 1Bioscoop Carolus - Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2Bioscoop Carolus - Wikipedianl.wikipedia.org