The Rudolfina Redoute dates back to the Austro-Hungarian empire (the oldest known “Damenspende”, a small gift given to ladies at the ball, from the Redoute is dated 6^th February 1912 and states the location as the military barracks on Schwarzenbergplatz). The Rudolfina Redoute is traditionally organized by the student organisation K.Ö.St.V. Rudolfina in Vienna, from which it gets its name. This organization is known to have been holding dances in the month of May (“Maikränzchen”) in Fischbach a small town near Vienna, as early as 4^th May 1899. On the 27^th January 1910, a “Rudolfina Kränzchen” took place, and from 1912, the Rudolfina Redoute began, with a fixed date of Carnival Monday. From 1921, the Redoute took place alternately in the Hoburg, the Sophiensälen, and the military barracks on Schwarzenbergplatz. From 1928 onwards, it took place solely in the Hofburg and it was also at this Redoute that modern dancing (with the exception of the Charleston) was permitted for the first time. However, this did not apply to dancing in the Festsaal where latin American dancing was only permitted after the second world war. Under national socialism in Austria, student organizations – including the K.O.St.V. Rudolfina – were banned and dissolved, and so no Rudolfina Redoutes took place between 1938 and 1945. In 1947, the first post-war Redoute took place on a much smaller scale in Ebendorferstraße, Vienna. The few guests celebrated together and brought their own wine, sausages and rye bread. In 1948, the first large Redoute after the war was held at the Palais Pallavinci, before returning to the Sophiensälen for many years (1949 – 1958), and finally to it’s traditional pre-war home of the Vienna Hofburg, where it has taken place on Carnival Monday ever since. In 2021 the Rudolfina-Redoute had to be canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.