We congratulate you on choosing to spend time in Prague, a remarkable city known for its cultural
and historical sights, as well as its tradition of art.
HISTORY
The National Marionette Theatre entered the Czech theatre scene as part of the Via Praga Cultural
System on 1 June 1991, when it was established – in a unique and historically protected theatre
space called The Kingdom of Puppets built in the Art Deco style.
MOZART IN PRAGUE
On the 20th of May 1929 the Worldwide Puppetry Organisation (UNIMA), was established. It has
become the world’s largest specialized non-government theatre organization associated with UNESCO. In the repertoir of the theater it is possible to see a traditional puppet performance Don
Giovanni which was originally composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart specially for Prague – the
first night of this opera taking place in 1787.
FAMOUS THEATHRE IN PRAGUE
Marionette theatre has been an extremely successful show for the over twenty years and has been seen by over 750,000 visitors not only in Prague but throughout Europe, Africa, Asia and most recently, at the
EXPO 2010 in Shanghai.
The original performance of marionette can be seen in Žatecká street, no 1, just a few steps from the
station Staromestska. You‘ll have a unique chance to experience the immortal music of Mozart and
at the same time adore the traditional masterpieces of the Czech marionetists.
Rudolfinum is one of the most significant music halls in Prague. It is located on the Jan Palach Square, in the vicinity of the Museum of Decorative Arts, the Faculty of Philosophy, and the Academy of Decorative Arts.
History and Architecture
This magnificant building is used as a musical auditorium and is one of the most important neo-renaissance buildings in the city. For many years Rudolfinum has been the home of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, and also one of the main venues for the famous Prague Spring International Music Festival held each year in May and June. The building project was overseen by the architect Josef Zítek and his loyal student Josef Schulz and was opened in February 8 in 1885. It was named in honour of Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria who presided over the opening. Rudolfinum was desinged to be a multi-purpose building. The auditorium facing the square is used as a concert hall bearing the name of our famous Czech composer, Antonin Dvorak and is famous for its extraordinary acoustics.
Events
On 4 January 1896 the Czech Philharmonic’s very first concert took place here and was conducted by Antonín Dvořák, himself. In the period between the World Wars the building served as the seat of the Czechoslovak Parliament.The rear part of the building, which is accessible from the embankment, is used as an exhibition hall. This Rudolfinum Art Gallery focuses mainly on contemporary art and is a state non-profit
institution directed and financed by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, and has been situated in the reconstructed part of the Rudolfinum building since 1 January 1994.. Nowadays approximately one thousand, five hundred square metres of exhibition area are available in the gallery space.
What makes this gallery unique is a large-scale architectural concept of exhibition halls illuminated byday-light passing through glassed-in ceilings, the appearence and mood of which can be changed by lowering the light levels in the halls and by various forms of artificial lighting.
It’s possible to view artwork by František Drtikol, Cindy Sherman, Jürgen Klauke, Annelies Štrba, Neo Rauch, Gottfried Helnwein.
Visitors will find many themed exhibitions and accompanying programs running concurrently, and changing throughout the year as the gallery focuses on temporary presentations rather than on its own permanent one.