Reception Room

The Reception Room, also known as the Audience Room, is one of the most important rooms on the first floor of the Grassalkovich Palace. It acquired its present form in 1779 when two small rooms were merged to create a large space for music. Tradition says that the great composer Joseph Haydn conducted a concert here when, as director of music for the Esterházy family, he was a guest of Count Anton I Grassalkovich.

Today, this artistic heritage is recalled by the “supraportes” – overdoor decorations showing allegories of the creative arts: music, dance, sculpture, painting and architecture. They were painted using the “en rouge” technique – varied shades of monochromatic pink – and French-style imagery. They are not the work of a professional painter but rather amateur work; nevertheless, they are well matched to the atmosphere and original purpose of the room.

The walls are decorated with gilded carvings of musical instruments. A major element of the room’s furnishings is a set of portraits of members of the Habsburg dynasty – Maria Theresa and her husband Francis of Lorraine, and Emperor Charles III and his wife Elisabeth Christine. The portraits were painted in the second half of the 18th century and are loaned from the collection of the Slovak National Museum – Červený Kameň Castle.

The room’s current decor was reconstructed based on historical photographs. These also inspired the alcove for a stove which was designed by Modra-based artist Franko based on 18th-century models.
The clock in the middle of one of the walls is an antique made around 1780, probably in Vienna. It is interesting that it still works and has never been adapted to electricity. The palace caretaker winds it every day. The furniture adheres to 19th-century neoclassical designs though the console tables are modern replicas based on the original designs. The parquet floor is covered with a white carpet woven in northern Bohemia in 1994. Lighting is provided by a crystal chandelier dating from 1990 and also made in the Czech Republic.

These days, the Reception Room is used for official receptions on a smaller scale, working meetings, ceremonial lunches and short protocol meetings. The room connects directly with the Great Hall, the venue for the most important constitutional acts of the President of the Slovak Republic.