This paper positions the restoration of the Czech Republic’s
Český Krumlov Castle Theatre as a politicized site upon which UNESCO’s internationalism and the State Party’s (the term given by UNESCO to the local interests that govern the restoration) competing nationalism are played out. Through the histories of the Castle Theatre’s imperial origin, the development of contemporary Czech nationalism, and UNESCO’s post-WWII internationalism, this paper explores the roots of UNESCO and the State Party’s respective political positions, and how they are performed on the site of the Castle Theatre. These political performances are illustrated through the two parties’ debates over tourism and the Revolving Theatre, and complicated by UNESCO’s recent acceptance of intangible cultural heritage.