Rudolfinum

The Rudolfinum ( Czech Rudolfinum ) is a built in Neo-Renaissance concert and gallery building on the right bank of the Vltava River in Prague's Old Town ( Staré Město ) in Prague.

The prominent building in light sandstone was built by the architects Josef Zítek and Josef Schulz in the years 1876-1884 on behalf of the Czech savings banks. The rounded facade design leaned against the Dresdner Semperoper. Patron was Crown Prince Rudolf. According to him and his art-loving ancestors Emperor Rudolf II, the building was named. It was designed from the outset as a House of Artists ( Dum umělců ) and should be the care of the music and the visual arts serve.

In Czechoslovakia, the newly founded the house in 1920 was transformed into the House of Representatives. It was only after the German occupation under the Nazis from 1938, the building was added to the original purpose. Initially it worked only Czech workers, instead of the statue of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy those distant aware of Richard Wagner. After this " mistake " was uncovered, the demolition was continued by German workers. After the Second World War, resided in the house again briefly the Czech Parliament. Since 1946 the building but again serves as a concert and exhibition facility. For this purpose, it hosts various concert halls. Their largest, called the Dvořák Hall, is the home of the most important classical Prague Orchestra, the Czech Philharmonic. Find also important concerts of the Prague Spring Music Festival instead.

Next to it is also a significant public art gallery, Galerie Rudolfinum, in the building complex. Their focus is mainly on exhibitions of contemporary visual arts and to a lesser extent on the so-called classical modernism. Major exhibitions have included: František Drtikol - Photographer, Painter, Mystic ( 1998), Cindy Sherman: Retrospective (1998 ), Jürgen Klauke: Side Effect (1998), Czech Photography 1840-1950 (2004), Annelies Štrba (2005), Neo Rauch: Neue Rollen (2007), Uncertain States of America ( 2007-2008), Gottfried Helnwein: Angels Sleeping (2008).