ZAGREB, 13 Jan (Hina) - As part of celebrations marking the 200th anniversary of the Croatian Music Institute, a concert will be held at the Croatian National Theatre on Wednesday, 14th January, at which the HRT Symphony Orchestra and Choir, together with the Ivan Goran Kovačić Choir, will perform works by Croatian composers.

Reconstruction of Croatian Music Institute

The Croatian Music Institute, the oldest musical institution in Croatia, is entering the final year of the restoration of the country’s first concert hall.

The Croatian Music Institute was founded as a society of music enthusiasts in 1827, and the building itself was constructed in 1876 through donations from the citizens of Zagreb.

It has survived two major earthquakes: in 1880 and 2020. The first earthquake caused damage to the staircase leading to the concert hall, and some of the restoration work at that time was carried out by Herman Bollé.

Since 1989, the building has been protected as a cultural monument, and since 2002 it has held the status of a cultural heritage site. Following the 2020 earthquake, emergency repairs were undertaken and a project for structural reconstruction was prepared. A contract was signed with the Ministry of Culture and Media for the allocation of €7.5 million from the Solidarity Fund, and the structural reconstruction was completed in 2023, with 97% of the funds drawn down.

In September 2023, an annex to the contract was signed for comprehensive and energy-efficient renovation under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), worth more than €22 million in non-repayable funds, with a completion deadline of 30 June 2026.