Since 2014, over 3,000 events have been staged in Pesti Vigadó, which functions as the seat of the Hungarian Academy of Arts.
For several centuries, Pesti Vigadó, located on Danube Embankment, has been an essential player in Hungary's art and cultural life. At the time of the siege of Buda during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, Redoute, which stood in place of today's Pesti Vigadó and was built on the basis of Mihály Pollack's plans, was completely destroyed, and a Classicist style building then called Vigadó, designed by Frigyes Feszl, was constructed on the same spot and received its visitors from 1865. During World War II, the building suffered serious damage and was accessible to the general public only after 1980. After 2004, a major reconstruction started on the site, and on 14th March 2014, in the scope of a celebratory opening event, Pesti Vigadó finally reopened its gates to the general public as the seat of the Hungarian Academy of Arts. An exhibition entitled "Connecting Heaven and Earth..." showcasing works by the Founding and Honorary Life President of the Hungarian Academy of Arts Imre Makovecz opened in Pesti Vigadó on 17th March 2014. This exhibition boasted as many as over 35 thousand visitors within a few months until the autumn of that year.
Pesti Vigadó, which was reopened exactly six years ago for the benefit of Hungarian art and cultural life, has so far hosted 120 exhibitions, 900 cultural events, 470 Hungarian and international protocol events and has offered 1,700 guided tours. This means that, all in all, visitors have had the opportunity to participate in over 3,000 programmes in Pesti Vigadó in the past six years.
