Gallery Rudolfinum in Prague. Rudolfinum (Prague Philharmonic)

Cultural life revolves around the musical temple of the capital - Rudolfinum. People from all over the country and even neighboring European countries come here to hear what they want or to take part in an incredible spectacle. This building is visited along with and. Without a visit to Rudolfinum, your acquaintance with Prague will not be complete.

The name "Rudolfinum" is a concert hall, exhibition and gallery in the center of Prague. It is located in the center of the city square of Jan Palach. The building was designed by architects Josef Zitek and Josef Schulz and commissioned by the Savings Bank. Upon completion of the work, it was transferred to the city’s balance sheet as a gift from the financiers for the bank’s anniversary to the entire Czech people.

The gallery in Prague is called Rudolfinum in honor of Rudolf, Crown Prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He became an honorary participant in the opening of the hall on February 7, 1885. Later, in 1918-1939, plenary sessions of the Czechoslovak Parliament were held in the concert hall.

After a grandiose reconstruction in 1990-1992, the Rudolfinum hall in Prague became the main concert venue of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. The concert hall seats 1023 spectators, the small one – 211.

The two-story building of the Rudolfinum cannot fail to impress. The Neo-Renaissance architectural style evokes admiration and respect for the skill of the project’s authors. The interior decoration also contains elements of a classical style. Along the outer perimeter of the building is decorated with sculptures of composers and illustrations of their works. The symbol of the Czech Savings Bank - the golden bee - is depicted on the chest of the building's classic guards - the sphinxes. Opposite the main entrance is Dvorak.

Rudolfinum in Prague became the very first cultural center in Europe, where various concerts, the Prague Spring festival, various exhibitions, etc. are held. The hall has excellent acoustics, allowing performances of any complexity to be held. Glass ceilings and a dimming system make it easy to organize art exhibitions in natural light.

How to get to Rudolfinum?

The concert hall is located on the Vltava embankment. If you are staying in one of the hotels near the Rudolfinum (Hotel UNIC Prague, Four Seasons Hotel Prague, Apartments Veleslavin, The Emblem Hotel, etc.), then you can walk to it, leisurely exploring the surrounding views of historical Prague. Not far from the cultural center there is the Staroměstská stop, which can be reached by bus No. 207 or trams No. 1, 2, 17, 18 and 25. The Staroměstská station is also located there.

You can get inside individually or as part of the Rudolfinum, as well as to an organized event: an exhibition or concert. The cost of an adult ticket is €4-6, students and older spectators receive a 50% size discount. Visitors under 15 years of age and accompanied disabled persons are admitted free of charge. Concert tickets cost €6-40, discounts apply to all types of cultural events at Rudolfinum.

Prague building Rudolfinum in the style of a bizarre neo-Renaissance, it was ahead of other similar buildings by almost a hundred years, becoming, in its thematic design, probably the very first multi-purpose cultural center in Europe.

History of Rudolfinum
It is noteworthy that initially the site “on Reidishti”, where the Rudolfinum is actually located today, was used for various outbuildings. It was only in the early 1870s that the Czech Savings Bank bought this site for the construction of the “House of Artists” (Dum umelcu), the construction of which was to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the bank.

And already in 1874, the Czech Bank invited several leading architects of the time to participate in an open competition for building designs, which planned to house a concert and exhibition hall under one roof.

The most famous Prague architects Ignaz Ullman, Josef Zitek, Antonin Barvicius, Frantisek Beniszek, Joseph Schulz, as well as Viennese masters such as A. Wielemann, Karl Kochlin, Otto Tienemann, George Niemann, F. Lunke were invited to participate in this competition.

As many as eight projects were presented to the strict and impartial jury, which consisted of venerable European architects. The winner was the joint project of Josef Zitek and Josef Schulz. In their letter, which was addressed to the management of the Czech Savings Bank, the chairmen of the jury advised focusing on this particular project, although it did not fully meet the requirements of the competition, it is the one that most accurately satisfies the artistic and functional requirements.

At the opening ceremony of the new building designed by the two Josephs, which took place on February 8, 1885, the most illustrious person was present - the Austrian Crown Prince Rudolf of Habsburg (Rudolph I), in fact, it was named “Rudolfinum” in his honor.

Initially, from the very first day, this majestic building housed the art gallery of the Society of Patriots - Friends of Art on a permanent basis. It was their most interesting collections that later became the first exhibits of the richest collections of the future National Gallery. In parallel with the art gallery, the Rudolfinum housed the Aesthetic Association, which organized many different exhibitions of contemporary art (1885-1929). And by 1896, the Czech Philharmonic began its vigorous activity there.

In 1918, the Rudolfinum was entrusted with responsibilities of a political nature, and it was there that the Parliament of the Czechoslovak Republic was temporarily located. And by 1920, Parliament had settled there on a permanent basis, once again confirming the rule: “there is nothing more permanent than temporary.” At the same time, part of the structure where the galleries were located underwent a radical restructuring, which affected the structure of the building as a whole, as well as individual rooms. Such a large-scale reconstruction even affected the concert hall - a huge organ was simply removed from it and replaced with a parliamentary tribune. The concert hall was partially restored only in the 1940s.

The world-famous Czech Philharmonic returned to the Rudolfinum only after the end of World War II. Although it should be noted that the gallery premises were previously used by the Conservatory and the Prague Academy of Performing Arts.

One of the concerts at Rudolfinum

Somewhat later, in 1990-1992, the building was again subjected to thorough reconstruction and modernization, according to the project of Karel Prager. The result of this work is truly amazing - the building has regained its original appearance, but what is really important is that the Rudolfinum has been returned to its historical original purpose - to bring art to the people. It again serves as a venue for various exhibitions and public concerts.

Rudolfinum (Prague, Czech Republic) - repertoire, ticket prices, address, phone numbers, official website.

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Rudolfinum is an extremely interesting place in the center of Prague, on Jan Palach Square, in fact the first cultural center in Europe, the creation of which had several goals at once - the possibility of holding performances, concerts, competitions, festivals, as well as various exhibitions. Along with the National Theater and the People's Museum, it is considered the most important symbol of the Czech national revival. This building was donated to Prague residents by the Czech Savings Bank.

Bankers, as you know, are thorough people, so it was decided to hold an open competition to choose the most worthy project from those proposed. The competition was international, but in the end the jury chose famous Prague architects Josef Zitek and his student Josef Schulz. Subsequently, Zitek became the author of the project for the first building of the National Theater, and Schultz became its reconstructor after the fire that destroyed the teacher’s building. Eight years after construction began, in 1855, the building was completed.

Since Crown Prince Rudolf, heir to the Austrian throne, arrived at the opening ceremony, the cultural center was named after him. An art gallery was located here immediately after the opening, and in 1896 the building housed the Czech Philharmonic.

However, political changes in the Czech Republic also affected the fate of Rudolfinum. Independent Czechoslovakia was formed, and its young government began searching for decent premises for parliamentary meetings. The choice fell on Rudolfinum. Unfortunately, the matter ended with reconstruction, which caused great damage to the building: many galleries and other rooms were rebuilt. Even the auditorium was subjected to the zeal of parliamentarians - the organ, for example, was replaced by a parliamentary tribune.

During the Nazi occupation, the building was rebuilt again and concerts resumed. After the war ended, the parliament returned to the building of the cultural center, but in 1946 it had to make room: the Czech Philharmonic began to work in the Rudolfinum, as before. The organ took its place of honor in the auditorium, performances took place regularly, but the former Gallery building still did not correspond to its original purpose, it was occupied by the Academy of Arts and the classrooms of the Prague Conservatory.

In 1990, under the leadership of Karl Prager, who had previously reconstructed the building of the New Stage of the National Theatre, reconstruction of the building began in order to return it to its original appearance. Now Rudolfinum has again become what it was intended to be - a multi-purpose cultural center, an architectural monument, a symbol of the Czech national revival.

The Rudolfinum galleries opened in 1994. They are surprisingly modern, and at the same time fit into the architectural concept of the neo-Renaissance building. This is the best contemporary art venue in Prague.

The Antonin Dvořák Concert Hall seats 1,023 spectators, and its acoustics are recognized as the best in the country. It is the home venue of the Czech Philharmonic. The Small Hall has 211 seats and is named after Dvorak's student, the famous composer and teacher Josef Suk. Wonderful chamber music concerts take place here, and the famous Prague Spring festival takes place in the Rudolfinum.

There is a funny story connected with Rudolfinum. On the attic of the neo-Renaissance building there were statues of great musicians and composers. During the occupation, an order was issued to remove the statue of Mendelssohn from the facade, since he could not boast of Aryan origin. The soldiers, without further ado, chose the statue with the largest nose. True, it turned out to be Hitler's favorite composer, Richard Wagner.

Coordinates

Address: Alšovo nábřeží, 79/12, Prague 1.

How to get there: by tram number 17 or number 18 to the Staroměstská stop. The nearest metro station is Staroměstská.

Opening hours: galleries Tue-Tue and Fri-Sun 10:00-18:00, Thu 10:00-20:00. Concert halls: ticket offices 10:00-12:30 and 13.30-18.00, concerts start Mon-Fri: 19:30, Sat-Sun 12:00.

The cost of visiting the galleries is 100-150 CZK, a 50% discount is given to students and the elderly, children under 15 years of age, disabled people and accompanying persons; admission is free.

Prices on the page are as of August 2018.

Concert ticket prices: 150-1000 CZK, 50% discount available to students, disabled people and elderly people.

Rudolfinum in Prague is a Czech temple of art that combines concert halls, art galleries and a conservatory on its territory. This is one of the most expressive objects in Prague created during the neo-Renaissance era. A beautiful building located on the Dvořák embankment.

The Rudolfinum is the main stage of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. The orchestra first gave a concert in the palace hall in 1896. The orchestra was conducted by Antonin Dvorak, whose name was later named after the large hall.

History of the object

Rudolfinum was built according to the design of two great Czech architects Josef Zitek and Josef Schulz in 1876-84. The construction of the Palace of Arts was initiated by the Czech Bank. The bank's board, convinced of the high role of art, took over the financing of the project and approached Crown Prince Rudolf with the wish to give the palace the name Rudolfinum. And now in the Dvorak Hall there is a symbol of the bank, meaning frugality - the golden bee.

Construction work took almost ten years. The grand opening, which was attended by the Habsburg Crown Prince, took place on February 7, 1885.

On January 4, 1896, an epoch-making event took place - a concert by Antonin Dvorak, where the composer himself, known by that time throughout the world, conducted. Since then, the hall began to be named after Dvorak, and the repertoire of the Rudolfinum firmly included musical works by Czech composers.

Great trials befell the Prague Philharmonic during the period of the Czechoslovak Republic, when the need for music faded into the background, and the Rudolfinum, renamed the House of Artists, turned into a meeting hall. The biggest problem was the reconstruction of the halls and the removal of the magnificent organ, created in 1884 by the German organist Sauer.

The architecture of the Rudolfinum was restored by a student of Josef Zitek in 1940-42. Antonin Engel, in collaboration with Bohumir Kozak, reconstructed the concert hall, improving its acoustic capabilities.

The last reconstruction of the Rudolfinum took place not so long ago - in the 90s. The technical equipment in the palace was updated, and the organ, which had been in the city of Brno all this time, was restored.

The structure of the palace and its sculptural decoration

Rudolfinum has two concert halls - named after Dvorak, with 1023 seats, and a small chamber hall, accommodating 211 visitors.

But the building consists of two functionally separated parts - a gallery and a concert. The main staircase precedes the entrance to the concert halls, and the galleries are located in the depths of the palace. During reconstruction, a cafe in the style of a palace was created on the embankment side.

The façade of the Rudolfinum is decorated with decorative 14-meter-high lanterns cast in 1885.

On both sides of the main staircase, visitors are greeted by two Muses, and at the top of the building there are sculptures of famous composers. Handel, Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Wagner and Mendelssohn look down on their fans from above.

Interesting facts from the history of Rudolfinum

Initially, the Rudolfinum's orientation towards German society was traced. Dedication to the Habsburgs, reflection of German musical culture in the sculptures decorating the building... And immigrants from the Czech Republic were practically not mentioned. The Czech craftsmen involved in the design of the Rudolfinum refused to complete the work, seeing that Czech culture was being ignored. Therefore, the hall was left with walls without artistic decorations.

There is a well-known story about how, during the occupation, an order was received from a German representative to remove Mendelssohn’s sculpture from the facade of the building, due to its origin. The workers did not figure out who was who in the presented statues, and intended to remove the Wagner sculpture. The error was corrected in time, Mendelssohn’s sculpture was preserved and, in favorable times, returned to its rightful place. It is symbolic how synchronously the actions took place: Mendelssohn’s sculpture was removed from the pediment, and at the same time the statue of the Commander collapsed in the hall, since the opera “Don Juan” was being performed there.