Rudolfinum | Rudolfinum is one of the most significant buildings of Bohemian new-Renaissance architecture. It is a joint work of prominent Bohemian architects of the second half of the 19th century, architect Josef Zítek (he built the National theatre) and architect Josef Schulz (he built the National museum). The object was built at the expense of Česká spořitelna, back then a German institute named Böhmische Sparkasse, the representatives of which decided to celebrate the 50th anniversary of establishment of this oldest financial institute in Prague by building a magnificent seat for the arts. The institute's representatives asked the then crown prince (archduke) Rudolf for permission to name the building after him, Rudolfinum. When the Czechoslovak republic was established, and namely after World War II, the building got a new name, the House of the Artists (Dům umělců), which was more acceptable for that time. Today, the old short name Rudolfinum is put back in place, and is also inscribed on the memorial plaques inside the building. The object was build on the land at Rejdiště, which has historically been a dump, then a wood storage, there used to be a lumber-mill and several other plants that were demolished. The enclosed land plot spreads on 5,315 m2. The building was initiated in 1876 under the supervision of ing. Václav Vejrych it was completed, including interior furnishings, in 1884, when it was consecrated. It cost two million gold pieces. It is the first modern Prague building with a complex, multipurpose operation. It was designed to host the labour unions of music, graphic arts and industrial arts and to serve the purposes of the Union for promoting music in Bohemia, the Patriotic union of art lovers, and the Museum of Decorative Arts. The object is built on a rectangular foundation, which is markedly divided into two independent parts: the Southern tract with Dvořák’s Hall, and the Northern part with several halls with ceiling lights, which are concentrated around the central monumental assembly hall with glass ceiling. There are altogether about 80 rooms, taking up eight thousand square metres of the surface.The ceremonious opening took place on the 7th February 1885. The headmaster of Prague art school conducted the orchestra from his institute, which played, among others, the Slavonic rhapsody II by Dvořák. Eleven years later, in January 1896, the Czech philharmonic orchestra came into existence here, which in its first concert conducted by Antonín Dvořák played the Slavonic rhapsody and the symphony From the New World. To commemorate this event, the concert hall was then renamed to Dvořák Hall.In the years 1919 - 39, the building was used as the seat of the Chamber of deputies of the Czechoslovak National Assembly, and the constructional modifications to suit its needs were carried out by architects Václav Roštlapil and Rudolf Kříženecký. It meant a significant intervention into the building’s balanced substance. In 1925, the house was interconnected with the neighbouring Academic grammar school, where the parliamentary clubs were established. In 1923, the building was passed from Česká spořitelna onto the state. During World War II, in the years 1940 - 42, part of Rudolfinum was restored by architect Antonín Engel (then the only living student of Josef Zítek) and Bohumír Kozák, to suit musical needs again, this time for the German philharmonic orchestra, which actually saved the concert parts of the building. It was namely Engel’s merit that Dvořák Hall was preserved and its acoustic properties were perfected. There is a story dating back to the time of German occupation, which says that Reichsprotector Reinhard Heydrich ordered to have the statue of Mendelssohn-Bartholdy removed from Rudolfinum’s attic because of his non-Aryan origin. The workers by mistake started to remove the statue of Hitler’s favourite Richard Wagner, but luckily, the mistake wa
