Concert hall Rudolfinum in Prague 1. Rudolfinum - the best concert hall in Prague
In the center of Prague, on Jan Palach Square, stands a monumental, majestic building in the neo-Renaissance style. Prague Rudolfinum is a real temple of art; it hosts concerts, competitions, festivals and various exhibitions. Europe's first multi-purpose cultural center was donated to the city by the Czech Savings Bank.
Rudolfinum. History of the Artists' Palace
Grandiose plans of Czech bankers
The Czech bank was preparing for its half-century anniversary, approaching the issue with the thoroughness inherent in bankers. Leading architects from different countries took part in an open competition for the design of the building, which was supposed to combine a concert and exhibition hall. A strict jury chose the joint project of Josef Zitek and his student Josef Schulz. Construction lasted for eight years and was officially completed on February 7, 1885.
Crown Prince Rudolf of Habsburg, heir to the Austrian throne, who arrived at the ceremony, determined with his presence the future name of the cultural center, now the whole world knows this building as “Rudolfinum”.
The Rudolfinum building, like the National Theater, symbolizes the Czech Renaissance.
Concerts and exhibitions. House of Arts
Since its opening, the building has housed the art gallery of the Society of Patriots. The Aesthetic Association launched its activities there and organized many exhibitions of contemporary art. And by the end of 1896, the Czech Philharmonic began working in the building.
Politics instead of music
The mission of the cultural center was interrupted in 1919. The government of the independent Czechoslovak state was looking for a solid building in the city center for parliamentary meetings, and chose the Rudolfinum. The building underwent a ruthless reconstruction, galleries and individual rooms were rebuilt. Even the concert hall, whose organ was replaced by a parliamentary tribune, was damaged.
During the Nazi occupation, the building was again reconstructed, and concerts were resumed.
After the end of World War II, the parliament returned to the building for a short time, giving way to the Czech Philharmonic in 1946.
Abode of two muses. Rudolfinum today
Back to the roots
After partial reconstruction, the organ was returned to the concert hall, and the Philharmonic continued its performances. However, the former Gallery building was occupied by the Academy of Arts and the auditorium of the Prague Conservatory.
In 1990, a large-scale reconstruction began under the patronage of the experienced architect Karl Prager, during which the building was returned to its original purpose. The historical monument has returned to its original state, delighting Prague residents and guests of the city with the nobility of style, and inside there are galleries and concert halls, according to the original project.
Fashion trends. Emphasis on contemporary art
The galleries of the Rudolfinum, re-opened in 1994, amaze with the grandeur of their architectural concepts. Glass ceilings allow you to enjoy works of art in daylight, and modern dimming systems and artificial light sources can be used to enhance the effect. The huge size (1500 m2) allows for large-scale exhibitions.
The art gallery is the best contemporary art venue in Prague, and the exquisite interiors provide the perfect backdrop.
Concert halls
The renovated Dvorak Hall seats 1,023, and its acoustics are considered the best in the country.
This is the home venue of the Czech Philharmonic.
The small hall, designed for 211 seats, was named after Dvorak's student, composer and excellent teacher, Josef Suk. It hosts chamber music concerts.
Rudolfinum is the main concert venue of the Czech Philharmonic, and its halls are the center of the famous Prague Spring festival.
Classical music concerts at Rudolfinum
Beauty and symmetry. Exterior and interior
Decoration of the city. Exterior and architecture
Rudolfinum is a wonderful example of the Neo-Renaissance. Its attic was decorated with statues of great composers, whose works are depicted as allegories on the palace building.
The golden bee, the symbol of the Czech Savings Bank, is repeated on the chest of the stone sphinxes and in the main hall of the palace.
In front of the building there is a monument to Antonin Dvořák, and in front of the facade there are 14-meter high lamps on bronze pedestals.
All the best. Interior of the cultural center
The interior of the building harmoniously combines neo-Renaissance and classical styles. The symmetry of the layout successfully divides the space into independent parts.
The Dvorak Hall looks very solemn with its semicircular amphitheater and high columns. There are busts of famous musical figures in the hall, but the paintings intended to decorate the walls were never painted.
The interior decoration of the small hall, built later, corresponds to the original style of the remaining rooms.
The new cafe, opened on the site of the former exhibition hall, deserves attention. This is a spacious, bright room, decorated with Corinthian columns.
An annoying oversight
There is a story that during the occupation in 1939, the Imperial Protector ordered the statue of Mendelssohn to be removed from the attic and destroyed, given its non-Aryan origin. The soldiers, not particularly familiar with history or music, chose the statue with the largest nose and began dismantling the statue of Wagner, Adolf Hitler's favorite composer.
The mistake was noticed and the culprits were punished. However, in the confusion, someone managed to hide the unfortunate Mendelssohn, and after the war the statue was returned to its place.
general information
Gallery
Schedule:
- Tuesday Wednesday; Friday-Sunday: 10:00-18:00
- Thursday: 10:00-20:00
Ticket prices: 100-150 CZK (Czech crowns)
A 50% discount is available for students and senior citizens.
For children under 15 years old, disabled people and accompanying persons, admission is free.
Concert halls
Schedule ticket office: 10:00 - 12:30; 13.30-18.00
Start of concerts:
- Monday-Friday: 19:30
- Saturday-Sunday: 12:00
Ticket prices: 150 - 1000 CZK
A 50% discount is provided to students, disabled people and elderly people.
Publication date:
2012-11-08
(Czech: Rudolfinum) - concert and exhibition hall (gallery) in the center of Prague. It belongs to the Czech Philharmonic and is its main concert venue. Architecturally, the Rudolfinum building is one of the most beautiful sights in Prague in the neo-Renaissance style.
The Rudolfinum was originally conceived as a multi-purpose "house of the muses", which would be used as a concert hall, art gallery and conservatory. The initiative to create it came from the Czech Savings Bank, which in this way wanted to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its foundation. He allocated funds for construction, and then donated the building to the city and the entire Czech people. The jury of the architectural competition, consisting of the leading architects of the time, chose the design of Josef Zitek and Josef Schulz from numerous applications submitted by renowned specialists.
Rudolfinum was officially opened February 7, 1885, 10 years after the start of construction. Attended the ceremony Crown Prince Rudolf, in honor of which the building received its name, but the glorious event was spoiled by interethnic discord (most of the guests present spoke German, while very few Czechs were invited). It is worth noting that even at the construction stage, Czech artists and craftsmen refused further participation in protest against the fact that national art was ignored in the design of the building.
In 1896, the Rudolfinum hosted first concert Czech Philharmonic, which forever linked its history with one of the greatest Czech musicians, because Antonin Dvořák took the stage that evening to perform his own works. Today the main concert hall bears his name.
In the period from 1918 to 1939, musical activity did not take place in the Rudolfinum, as it was used for holding meetings Parliament of Czechoslovakia. To suit the new purpose, a number of changes were made to the appearance of the building, primarily affecting the interior.
Oddly enough, the restoration of the Rudolfinum as a center for art and music occurred during World War II, when the German Philharmonic gave concerts there. Architects Bohumir Kozak and Antonin Engel restored the building to the decor of a concert venue, while improving the acoustics and creating another small concert hall on the ground floor, later named after the Czech composer and violinist Josef Suk.
According to a well-known legend, Hitler did not like the presence of a statue of the Jew Mendelssohn on the balustrade of the facade, and he ordered to get rid of it. However, soldiers nearly destroyed the statue of the Nazis' beloved Wagner, misled by his prominent nose. Although the mistake was discovered in time by one of the officers, the soldiers were shot for offensive negligence. Taking advantage of the situation, Czech employees selflessly devoted to art, risking their own lives, managed to safely hide the Mendelssohn statue.
In 1946, the Czech Philharmonic returned to the Rudolfinum, which until the Velvet Revolution of 1989 shared it with the Academy of Performing Arts and the Prague Conservatory. And while concerts and other performances took place in the southern part of the building, the northern part was destined to get used to a completely different form of “art” for a while. The magnificent space of the Main Hall was converted into a gymnasium for students of the conservatory.
After the Rudolfinum was declared a national cultural monument, the need for its urgent reconstruction, carried out in 1990–1992 under the leadership of the team of Karel Prager, became obvious. Upon its completion, the building was completely given over to the service of the muses, for which it was originally built. Today, the Rudolfinum is the main concert venue of the Czech Philharmonic, and the renovated halls of the northern part delight visitors with a variety of exhibitions from the gallery of the same name.
Halls of the Rudolfinum
The world-famous concert hall has been the home stage of the Czech Philharmonic since its first public performance at the end of the 19th century. It is ideal for performing symphonies, oratorios and chamber music.
Josef Suk Hall
Intended primarily for chamber performances and associated with a recording studio. Often used as a venue for conferences, auctions and corporate presentations.
Main Hall
Designed as the formal entrance to the art gallery on the top floor. The largest space of the Rudolfinum is used for large-scale public events, such as gala evenings, receptions, balls and others.
Hall of Columns
The café in the Hall of Columns is most often used for press conferences, presentations of new music and books, as well as for smaller public events.
Presidential salon
The room with the most sophisticated interior is used for press conferences, presentations and small public events.
Western salon
The elegant lounge overlooking Prague Castle is ideal for intimate meetings and press conferences.
Rudolfinum Gallery
Temporary exhibition “Jurgen Teller: Enjoy life!”, 15. 12. 2016 - 19. 03. 2017
Juergen Teller, one of the most sought-after photographers of our time, successfully works on the border between artistic and commercial photography. He became famous back in 1991, when his quickly became iconic photographs of Kurt Cobain were published in Details magazine.
"Enjoy life!" - a unique author’s project created by the artist himself and combining old photo series, such as “Nuremberg” (2005), and new creativity, for example, “Kanye, Jurgen and Kim” (2015) and “Charlotte Rampling: The Fox and the Plate” (2016). Many works are autobiographical (the “Irene in the Forest” series) and often ironic in nature (the “Sanatorium” series).
The musical image of Prague is complemented by the Czech Philharmonic. Her residence is located in Rudolfinum. Rudolfinum personifies Czech culture.
Rudolfinum is a building on the Prague embankment of the Vltava River, built in the neo-Renaissance style by the architect Josef Zhitk and Josef Schulz in 1876-1886 with money from the Czech Savings Bank. The first concert was conducted by Antonin Dvorak himself.
Rudolfinum - a symbol of the Czech Renaissance
The official opening of the Rudolfinum building took place on February 7, 1885. It was named in honor of Rudolph, Prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The building symbolized the Czech Renaissance, along with the National Theater and Museum.
From 1918 to 1938 and after the end of World War II, the Rudolfinum building hosted meetings of the Czechoslovak Parliament.
Today the Rudolfinum is the main concert venue of the Czech Philharmonic. The Great Dvorak Concert Hall (Dvořákova síň) and the Small Suk Hall (Sukova síň) are the centers for the annual event. There are several exhibition halls in the building.
Rudolfinum – concert venue of the Czech Philharmonic
The names of famous musicians are associated with the Czech Philharmonic: Zdenek Mahler, Edvard Grieg, Leonard Bernstein and Rafael Kubelik. The Philharmonic Orchestra successfully tours around the world, and is especially popular in the USA and Japan.
In front of the Rudolfinum building there is a monument to the Czech composer Antonín Leopold Dvořák, who was born near Prague in the town of Nelahozeves in 1848.
How to get there
Take the metro to Staroměstská station.
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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.
The Rudolfinum on Jan Palach Square in Prague is a world-famous concert hall and home stage of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. The area of Rudolfinum is 8000 m2. The building has as many as 80 rooms, including two huge concert halls. One of the halls is dedicated to Antonin Dvorak, the leader of the orchestra. Together with the National Theater and Museum, the Rudolfinum forms a unique triad of cultural life in the capital.
NAVIGATION
Story
The Rudolfinum building in the neo-Renaissance style was built in 1876-84, the project was financed by the largest banks. The creators of the project did not intend to limit Rudolfinum to the musical sphere. Initially, the building was planned as a house of art and was also supposed to house the largest art gallery.
The project was named in honor of the heir to the Czech crown, Rudolf.
In Czechoslovakia, until the Nazi occupation began, the building served as the home of the National Assembly of Deputies. During this period, the appearance of Rudolfinum changed noticeably due to technical needs.
The Nazis again made Rudolfinum a concert hall. For the occupiers, his stage became one of the mouthpieces of the propaganda of the Third Reich.
During the reconstruction of the building, it was ordered to dismantle the statue of Mendelssohn. There were no signatures, and workers accidentally sent a statue of Wagner, the composer Hitler loved, to the landfill. In the chaos, members of the resistance managed to save the monument to Mendelssohn.
After the Czech Republic came under the influence of the Soviet Union, Rudolfinum became a House of Artists for a long time. When independence returned to the country, the cultural monument was restored to its true meaning. After World War II, the Rudolfinum hosted the Prague Spring festival for the first time, one of the main events in the world of academic music.
Concert hall
After the Velvet Revolution, the Rudolfinum again became the main concert hall in Prague and the home of the Czech Philharmonic. The sculptures of famous musicians on the façade of the building were restored. The architects added new design elements that corresponded to the original ideas of their colleagues in the 19th century - statues of lions, sphinxes and muses. External lighting was installed, consisting of more than 4,000 lamps.
Now in the Dvojak Hall, more than a thousand spectators can enjoy the concert. The acoustics of the room are at the highest level.
The pride of the modern Rudolfinum is the German organ from 1884.
Gallery
The gallery consists of one large and three small halls. Now there is no permanent collection of exhibits here. Instead, the gallery serves as an exhibition hall. Despite the historical significance of the building, the gallery displays paintings by artists of our time. Also in Rudolfinum you can find a cinema hall and a cafe where you can have a drink or snack after the concert.
Address, opening hours
Rudolfinum is located in Prague at Alšovonábřeží 79/12. You can get there by tram 17 or 18, or by metro. The stop in both cases is Staroměstská.
The gallery's opening hours are from 10-00 to 18-00, on Thursdays - until 20-00. Tickets to the gallery cost 100-150 CZK.
Concerts on weekdays begin at half past eight, on weekends - at twelve o'clock in the afternoon. Ticket prices reach thousands of Czech crowns. Both the gallery and concert halls offer a 50% discount for students and senior citizens. Children under fifteen years of age can enter for free.
Hotels nearby
Classical music lovers can stay in hotels located near Rudolfinum:
- Zatecka N°14. Located in the Josefov quarter, half an hour's drive from Vaclav Havel Airport. Here you will find family rooms and excellent Italian coffee. Couples especially rate the hotel highly;
- Residence U Malvaze. Address – Karlova 10. The best choice for those who come not only to see historical sights, but also to try Czech beer. A variety of beers and snacks are served here. In fine weather, breakfast is served in the hotel garden;
- U Páva, located at U Lužického Semináře 30. A universal option. There are family rooms and a small club for guests on the ground floor. The local wine list will interest even experienced sommeliers;
- Residence Glamor Premium. You will stop at 23 Pařížská. From the balconies of this hotel you will have a beautiful view of old Prague. Each room includes a personal coffee machine.
