This structure, which is one of the most architecturally significant buildings in Prague, was built between 1876 and 1884. as multifunctional cultural center , and in honor of Crown Prince Rudolf was named Rudolfinum. Concert hall - now the hall to them. Dvorak - served the Czech Philharmonic since January 4, 1896, when the Philharmonic performed there for the first time under the direction of the composer and conductor Antonin Dvořák. Rudolfinum fulfilled its cultural mission until 1919, when it was transformed into Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czechoslovak Republic. During the Second World War, concerts began to be held again in the Rudolfinum. However, the complete restoration of the building, especially the rooms in which the galleries were located, took place only in 1992, when a major overhaul was carried out under the leadership of the architect Karel Prager, and Rudolfinum became seat of the Czech Philharmonic and Rudolfinum Gallery.
The Rudolfinum was donated to the people of Prague by a Czech savings bank. Once upon a time, local bankers were preparing for a chic celebration. It was planned to celebrate the anniversary of the native bank. Naturally, the building for the holiday had to be unique, even luxurious. A whole commission was created, which decided where exactly it was necessary to hold the celebration. A competition was announced for best idea. Leading architects not only of the city, but also of the country took part. Everyone offered their projects, but the project of Zitek and Schulz was recognized as the best. Rudolfinum was built for eight years, in February of the fifty-fifth year of the nineteenth century, its grand opening took place. Since the prince himself was present here, it was decided to name the new exhibition hall in his honor.
The main entrance to the Rudolfinum from the waterfront
Since then, Rudolfinum has been considered a real temple of the arts. There are shows, concerts, festivals, exhibitions.
Events held at the Rudolfinum
Almost immediately after the opening, an art gallery settled here. It was called the Society of Patriots. Exhibitions started famous artists. also in exhibition hall The Aesthetic Association appeared, which was also involved in holding exhibitions, concerts and other festive events. And at the end of the nineteenth century, the Czech Philharmonic began its work.
Unfortunately, when the war started, all cultural events were cancelled. Here began to hold meetings of Parliament. Rudolfinum was almost completely changed, betraying a complete reconstruction. The most beautiful halls and galleries began to be rearranged. Also, it hurt a lot. concert hall. Instead of an organ, a tribune for the speeches of deputies appeared here. After the war, the Rudolfinum was again restored and given to the Czech Philharmonic.
Peculiarities
The building has a stunning concert hall. The acoustics here are great. The hall was named after Dvorak. This is a great Czech composer. His statue can be seen in front of the entrance. Busts are placed here famous musicians, such as Talih, Kubelik, Stupka.
The small hall of the Rudolfinum has a capacity of two hundred and eleven seats. Concerts, exhibitions, presentations are held here.
At the end of the thirties of the twentieth century, there was interesting case. Vice-rector Heydrich ordered the destruction of the Mendelssohn-Bartholdy sculpture. Allegedly, the musician did not have Aryan origin. The ordinary soldiers who were given the order had no idea what the musician looked like. They thought for a long time and decided which of the sculptures was to be destroyed. As a result, a statue of Richard Wagner was seized. And this was Hitler's favorite composer.
How to get to Rudolfinum
If you decide to visit Rudolfinum, you need to get to the Staromestska stop. You can get there on the eighteenth or seventeenth tram. Or, take the subway. On Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, the Rudolfinum is open from ten in the morning until six in the evening. And on Thursday this famous hall is open until twenty-two zero-zero. Ticket prices range from one hundred to one hundred and fifty crowns. Senior citizens and students enjoy discounts and pay half the price. And children under fifteen years of age and the disabled are free of charge.
Be sure to visit the Rudolfinum, of course, if you are a true connoisseur of art.
The musical image of Prague is complemented by the Czech Philharmonic. Her residence is located in Rudolfinum. The Rudolfinum represents Czech culture.
The Rudolfinum is a neo-Renaissance building on the Vltava riverside in Prague, built by the architects Josef Zytok 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 after Rudolf, Prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The building symbolized the Czech Renaissance, along with National Theater and the Museum.
Between 1918 and 1938 and after the end of World War II, the Rudolfinum building hosted meetings of the Czechoslovak Parliament.
Today Rudolfinum is the main concert hall Czech Philharmonic. The Dvořák Large Concert Hall (Dvořákova síň) and the Small Suka Hall (Sukova síň) are the centers of the annual concert. There are several exhibition halls in the building.
Rudolfinum - concert venue of the Czech Philharmonic
Famous musicians are associated with the Czech Philharmonic: Zdeněk Mahler, Edvard Grieg, Leonard Bernstein and Rafael Kubelik. The Philharmonic Orchestra successfully tours all over the world, it 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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Rudolfinum in Prague is a Czech temple of art, uniting concert halls on its territory, art galleries and the conservatory. This is one of the most expressive buildings in Prague, created in the neo-Renaissance era. A beautiful building is located on the Dvorak embankment at.
Rudolfinum is main stage orchestra of the Czech Philharmonic. For the first time the orchestra gave a concert in the hall of the palace in 1896. The orchestra was conducted by Antonin Dvořák, whose name was subsequently given to the large hall.
Object history
The Rudolfinum was designed by two great Czech architects Josef Zitek and Josef Schulz in 1876-84. The initiator of the construction of the Palace of Arts was the Czech Bank. The council of the bank, convinced of the high role of art, took over the financing of the project and turned to Crown Prince Rudolf with a wish to give the palace the name Rudolfinum. And now in the hall of Dvorak the symbol of the bank, meaning thrift, has been preserved - a golden bee.
Construction work unfolded for almost ten years. Grand opening, which was attended by the Crown Prince of the Habsburgs, fell on February 7, 1885.
On January 4, 1896, a landmark event took place - a concert by Antonin Dvorak, where the composer himself, known all over the world by that time, conducted. Since then, the hall began to be called after Dvořák, and Rudolfinum's repertoire has firmly entered musical works Czech composers.
Great trials fell to the lot of 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 room. The biggest problem was the rebuilding 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 was updated in the palace, 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
The Rudolfinum has two concert halls - the Dvořák hall, with 1023 seats, and a small chamber hall with a capacity of 211 visitors.
But the building consists of two functionally separated parts - gallery and concert. The main staircase precedes the entrance to the concert halls, and the galleries are located in the depths of the palace. During the reconstruction, a cafe designed in the style of a palace was created on the side of the embankment.
The façade of the Rudolfinum is decorated with 14-meter-high decorative lanterns cast in 1885.
At both sides front staircase visitors are greeted by two Muses, and sculptures are located in the upper part of the building famous composers. Handel, Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Wagner and Mendelssohn look down on their admirers.
Interesting facts from the history of Rudolfinum
Initially, Rudolfinum's orientation towards German society was traced. Dedication to the Habsburgs, reflection of the German musical culture in the sculptures decorating the building… And there were almost no mentions of people from the Czech Republic. The Czech masters involved in the design of the Rudolfinum refused to complete the work, seeing that Czech culture was being ignored. Therefore, the walls in the hall remained without artistic decorations.
There is a well-known story about how, during the occupation, an order was received from a German representative to remove the sculpture of Mendelssohn from the facade of the building, due to its origin. The workers did not find out who is who in the presented statues, and intended to remove the sculpture of Wagner. The mistake was corrected in time, Mendelssohn's sculpture was saved and returned to its rightful place in favorable times. It is symbolic how synchronously the actions took place: the sculpture of Mendelssohn 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 played there.
Hi friends! We bet that you will never pass by one building in the center of Prague. You will definitely notice it, slow down. This is Rudolfinum. This is a real temple of art - the first European multifunctional cultural center. Various concerts, exhibitions, festivals and much, much more are held here.
Administrative district of Prague 1. Historical area.
Rudolfinum (Rudolfinum) was presented in the 19th century to the townspeople and Prague by the Czech Savings Bank.
The reason for the gift was the anniversary of the bank. Yes, usually the hero of the day does not give, but, on the contrary, receives gifts. But bankers are not like everyone else. The Czech Savings Bank then celebrated a round date. The bankers approached the celebration in a big way.
They organized a competition for the best design for a building that would combine a concert hall and exhibition halls.
Leading architects of the country hastened to take part in the competition. And the winners were Josef Zitek and Josef Schulz.
The large-scale construction lasted for eight years. It was completed by 1855.
You may be wondering how the name of this center came about. We won't keep you waiting. The “culprit” is Crown Prince Rudolf of Habsburg, who arrived at the opening ceremony of the cultural center. The cultural center was named after him.
Since the opening, the Society of Patriots gallery has been located here, as well as exhibitions dedicated to contemporary art from "Aesthetic Association".
A little later, by 1896, the Czech Philharmonic began its work in the building.
For 13 years, Rudolfinum has been pleasing citizens, but it is not without reason that the song says: “because you can’t be so beautiful ...” and her words apply not only to people.
In 1919 the Parliament of Czechoslovakia laid eyes on beautiful building. It was ruthlessly reconstructed, much was rebuilt, even the organ was removed, replacing it with a parliamentary tribune.
- Under Hitler, concerts were resumed.
- After the end of the war, Parliament returned here.
- The Czech Philharmonic Rudolfinum was given away only in 1946.
1990 was the time for Rudolfinum to return to the roots. Then work was carried out to restore the external and internal appearance of the building.
The building was reopened to visitors in 1994.
Now Rudolfinum - the best playground for concerts and exhibitions in Prague.
Temple of the Arts
The galleries of the Rudolfinum amaze with their scale and strength of architectural concepts. Glass ceilings are the dream of artists, they allow you to see the paintings in natural light. Special effects are created by dimming systems.
The Dvorik Concert Hall (Dvořákova síň) is the best in the country in terms of acoustics.
Small Hall, Sukova síň, named after Dvořák's student Josef Suk. Chamber concerts are held here.
Rudolfinum is the home ground for the Czech Philharmonic, and also the home ground of the Prague Spring festival.
Exterior and interior
From an architectural point of view, the Rudolfinum is a prime example of the Neo-Renaissance.
Outside, the building is decorated with sculptures of composers and allegories of their works.
Another decoration that reminds us of those without whom this building would not exist is a golden bee - a symbol of a savings bank. She is depicted on the chest of the sphinxes.
There is a monument to Dvorak in front of the building.
The interior of the building combines classical style and neo-renaissance.
curiosity
An interesting story is connected with the appearance of the building. It seems to be like, in 1939, it was decided to remove the statue of Mendelssohn from the building and destroy it. Soldiers, far from the world of art, encroached on the one whose nose seemed to them the largest, that is, Wegner, Hitler's favorite composer. The mistake was noticed, the perpetrators were punished.
But in all this confusion, someone hid the statue of Mendelssohn, which again took its place after the war.
What to see nearby
It will take you 2 hours to inspect the Rudolfinum. We advise you to look in the neighborhood in the historical