The Danube Palace ( hu, Duna Palota) is a Neo-Baroque concert hall located in the

Inner City The term ''inner city'' has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Sociologists some ...

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

. It was built between 1883 and 1885 according to the plans of Vilmos Freund. It was known as the casino of Lipótváros – not in the sense of gambling - but an aristocratic club for entertainment. The Palace served as a place of culture, supporting many young artists. Bartók, Kodály, and Dvorák all played in its first-class concert hall. Since 1951 the building has been carrying out the cultural programs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It is home to the Danube Symphony Orchestra.

History

The Danube Palace was completed in 1885 as part of Budapest's massive expansion for the millennium celebrations. Hungary was a thousand years old in 1896 and the Habsburg Emperor

Franz Joseph I Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...

was determined to create a prestigious city that reflected its ancient standing. It was built according to the plans of Vilmos Freund, in co-operation with the contractor

Géza Márkus Géza Márkus (Pest, 4 August 1871 – Budapest, 6 December 1912) was a Hungarian Jewish architect. Life He was the brother-in-law of conductor Dezső Márkus and newspaper writer Miksa Márkus. His first works show the influence of the mod ...

. Originally, the whole palace was decorated with gold motifs, familiar to Baroque churches. The building took its current shape in 1941. Between 1895 and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the Danube Palace was open for the public for various events. During the war it was completely empty, because that part of the Danube was also the front line between the occupying Soviets on the Pest side, and the Germans on the

Buda Buda (; german: Ofen, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Budim, Будим, Czech and sk, Budín, tr, Budin) was the historic capital of the Kingdom of Hungary and since 1873 has been the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest, on the ...

side. At the end of the war the German military blew up all the bridges that connected the two sides of the Hungarian capital. That is why a few modern buildings can be seen in the area of the Danube palace, including the Sofitel and Intercontinental Hotels. The Palace today, apart from symphony concerts, has a variety of literary and artistic events and functions, and even folk dancing. It is a popular Budapest tourist attraction where you can get a combined show and Danube cruise.

Above the restaurant

After the war the building was nationalised by the communist government and some changes were made during that era. The balcony, the ceiling and the staircase were rebuilt out of oak. Only a stained-glass composition remained unharmed above the staircase of the restaurant. It was created by Miksa Roth and titled Kenyérünnep (Feast of the new bread). At the center of the glass, there is a woman, who holds a fresh baked loaf of bread made from freshly reaped grains. In the upper left corner, there is a Hungarian soldier holding a flag and next to him there are two working women with a red flag, reminiscent of Soviet times. The Palace has several lovely and elegant salons, each perfect for filming, such as the Brown Salon.

The Brown Salon

The Brown Salon, that once served as a smoking room, is now a conference hall.

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as H ...

performed his opera there, called

Bluebeard's Castle ''Duke Bluebeard's Castle'' ( hu, A kékszakállú herceg vára, link=no, or ''The Blue-Bearded Duke's Castle'') is a one-act expressionism, expressionist opera by Hungarian composer Béla Bartók. The libretto was written by Béla Balázs, a poet ...

. The production was deemed unfit for the stage, surprisingly, as it is one of the composer's most popular pieces. More recently the ornate room has been utilized as a setting for filming. For example, one scene of ''

Evita Evita may refer to: Arts * Evita (1996 film), ''Evita'' (1996 film), a 1996 American musical drama film based on the 1976 concept album of the same name * Evita (2008 film), ''Evita'' (2008 film), a documentary about Eva Péron * Evita (album), ''E ...

'' was filmed there, starring

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

. It was used as the setting for the bedroom scene where she broke up with her lover, Juan. Another link to the present is the first president of the Casino of

Lipótváros Lipótváros (, ) is a traditional neighbourhood in the city centre of Budapest, named after King Leopold II. It is one of the two neighbourhoods of District V, the other one being Inner City (Belváros), which is the old town of Pest. Lipótv ...

Miksa Falk Miksa Falk (or sometimes Maximilian Falk, 7 October 1828 – 10 September 1908) was a Hungarian politician, journalist, member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the editor-in-chief of the German-language newspaper '' Pester Lloyd''. Ear ...

, was the grandfather of

Peter Falk Peter Michael Falk (September 16, 1927 – June 23, 2011) was an American film and television actor. He is best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in the long-running television series ''Columbo'' (1968–1978, 1989–2003), for which he ...

, better known as

Columbo ''Columbo'' () is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originally aired on NBC f ...

The Theater Hall

The beautiful theatre hall with its domed ceiling is the main reason why the building is under protection. It is the only theater in Hungary with a cupola. The cupola paintings are the work of

Lajos Márk Lajos Márk, also known as Louis Marc (25 August 1867, Petru Rareș, Bistrița-Năsăud, Reteag – 18 March 1942, New York City) was a Hungarian painter, illustrator and poster artist. Biography His father, , was an economist. After an educ ...

, and the gold ornaments are reminiscent of baroque churches. Above the stage a lyre can be seen. It is an original decoration. The theatre hall also has an air-conditioning system from the 19th century, similar to the

Hungarian Parliament Building The Hungarian Parliament Building ( hu, Országház , which translates to "House of the Country" or "House of the Nation"), also known as the Parliament of Budapest after its location, is the seat of the National Assembly of Hungary, a notable l ...

. Tunnels on the wall drag cold air from the cellar based on simple pressure difference. Nowadays it is assisted by a modern air-conditioning system.

The Széchenyi Room

This elegant wainscotted room, made up of two interconnected parts, is located opposite the grand staircase, It has marble columns, a fireplace and mirror, coffered gold ceiling and walls faborításúak. It was named in honor of István Széchenyi, a politician and writer, known as the "Greatest Hungarian". Like most of the rooms in the Danube Palace today, it can be hired for private functions.

References

{{Budapest Buildings and structures in Budapest