Zádor Anna: Neoclassical Pest - Our Budapest (Budapest, 1993)

of the Vigadó facing the Danube was accentuated by a peristyle consisting of six Ionic columns and topped by a pediment; this facade with its light and breezy design must have been an attractive sight from every direction. Behind this peristyle there was a huge ceremonial hall, complemented lengthwise by a smaller hall and a café winding into a semicircle. Pollack formed every detail of the interior with extreme care. Based on the evidence of some details of the plan that still existed before the war, the interior decorative elements represented the highest possible level at the time. The Vigadó erected between 1829 and 1832 was not to adorn Pest for long. In the bombardment of 1848 the Vigadó, along with the German Theatre, was destroyed by fire.

The other theatre of the period was the first National Theatre, which stood on the corner of present-day Rákóczi út and Múzeum körút. Its size and design were more modest than those of the Vigadó, but more enduring memories and cultural implications are attached to

(National Müseüm) fao\de

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