The main room of the Rector’s Palace is a large hall,which was called City Hall at the time the palace had a vicarious function dueto the fact that the City Council held its sessions here. The central hall ofthe palace has had different functions throughout the centuries. It served as acourt hall in the 16th century, as the city theatre in the 18th century, as ahall for games and entertainment in the 19th century and as a concert hall inthe 20th century. As it changed functions, the palace also changed names andwas therefore called municipal, court, governors, government, vicarious palaceand Chamber of Culture. 

The large palace hall is even mentioned in documents fromthe 14th and 15th century that spoke about the sessions inthe palace and about its repairs. In documents from the year 1352 it is mentionedfor the first time that the Council of Zadar Commune held their sessions in thehall of the Rector’s Palace (sala comitatis).

After World War II,when the Rector’s Palace became the Chamber of Culture, the concert hall wasthe centre of musical life in the city and a place for various cultural andsocial events until its complete destruction during the Homeland War. Since September 2012, the Concert Hall is set up forexhibition purposes as well as the neighbouring small hall and corridor on the upperfloor of the palace. On October 3, 2014, in the Concert Hall of theRector’s Palace the Town of Zadar and project partners held an initialconference due to the start of the implementation of the project "Renovationand tourist valorisation of the cultural-historical complex the Rector’s Palace".

There have been numerous initiatives throughout history concerning therenovation of the Concert Hall because since its destruction in the HomelandWar until today the City of Zadar does not have a suitable space for concertsand other cultural events to be held.