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PALACE OF CULTURE
The Palace of Culture is one of the most representative buildings of Arad. It was erected between
1911-1913. The monument impresses up to now, each person, either native or foreign.
It combines a variety of styles. The front side is in Neo-classic style and has a front age supported by Corinthian
big colonnades, above it being a big tower. The side wings are marked by elements of the Italian
Renaissance. The castle of Hunedoara, a Gothic building, inspires the side that faces the park.
Coming up the impressive stairs, the visitor first enters into a nice hall carved in Moneasa marble
and then enters in the great concert hall.
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Analysing the history of the palace, we may notice some important facts. The building of the edifice
was initiated in 1901 by the Kölesey Culture Society, which was interested in having a building for
housing the local museum, the town library, a concert hall, and an art gallery. A contest was organised
and 27 projects were accepted. The interest was so great that architects from Paris, Berlin and
Budapest participated in the competition. The local authorities accepted none of the projects.
Then an appeal was made to the Arad architect Ludovic Szantay and the present location was chosen.
Because of the lack of money, nothing was built until 1910. During the fall of 1912, the building of
the palace was ready and part of the museum collection was exhibited in the new rooms.
The
inauguration of the building took place on the 25th of October 1913. The philharmonic orchestra
of the town was invited to the inauguration and pieces of Schubert, Goldmarck, Bizet and Beethoven
were played. After that, important musical personalities from home and abroad were invited to play
in the palace such as: Traian Grozavescu, Richard Strauss, Bela Bartok, and the famous composer and
violin player George Enescu. In 1931, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary, George Enescu was
adorned the title of citizen of honour of Arad in this hall.
Now, the building of the Culture
Palace houses the County Museum and State Philharmonic.
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