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The Rotunda at the University of Virginia was designed by Thomas Jefferson as the architectural and academic heart of the University’s community of scholars. He named the University’s original buildings the “Academical Village.” As the phrase suggests, the Academical Village is based on the Jeffersonian principle that learning is a lifelong process, and that interaction between faculty and students is vital to the pursuit of knowledge.
Jefferson modeled the Rotunda after the Pantheon, a second-century temple in Rome. Construction began in 1822 and was completed in 1828, two years after Jefferson’s death on July 4, 1826. Built at a cost of almost $60,000, it was the last structure to be finished on the Lawn. Together with Monticello, the Academical Village is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Hours of Operation
The Rotunda is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Historical Tours: Historical Tours of the University of Virginia are currently unavailable. The Rotunda - A Guide for Visitors is available at each desk in English, Chinese, French, and Spanish. Feel free to explore our Visitors Center and experience a self-guided tour between the hours of 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. daily. Rotunda staff are available to answer questions and assist.
Student Study Hours: During fall and spring semesters, the Rotunda is open to students for studying from 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday - Tuesday, and until midnight during exams.
For more information about visiting the Rotunda, please call 434-924-7969.
Events
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Aug. 18, 2026, – Jan. 24, 2027
Upper West Oval Room
Nginingawula Jilamara Ngirramini kapi Jurra highlights both the enduring legacy of printmaking at Jilamara Arts & Crafts Association and artists’ contemporary innovations. The history of Jilamara
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5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Dome Room
This year, UVA students take on that prompt for the 6th Annual Student Oratory Competition, streamed live from the historic Dome Room of the Rotunda.
As the nation marks 250 years since the Declaration
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6 to 8:30 p.m.
Dome Room
Featuring the Youth Orchestras of Central Virginia and historical actor-interpreter, Bill Barker as Thomas Jefferson.
In the News
UVA's Rotunda transforms into The Great Rotumpkin
Each Halloween, University of Virginia's most recognizable landmark turns into something spooky. Using projection mapping, animation, and music, the Rotunda transforms into a larger-than-life canvas for ghosts, skeletons, pumpkins, and other things that go bump in the night.
10 years later: Rotunda renovation remembered
When Teresa Sullivan first stepped onto the University of Virginia’s Grounds in 2010 as a candidate for president, she thought someone important had died.
The Rotunda’s capitals – the ornate tops of the building’s columns – were shrouded in black fabric. “For whom is the University
UVA’s celebration of Declaration of Independence draws a crowd to the Rotunda
Video - Declaration Under the Dome
Thomas Jefferson and Cavman held the floor Monday in the Dome Room of the University of Virginia’s Rotunda, throwing fist bumps and high-fives and standing for selfies as hundreds of guests
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This institution will be based on the illimitable freedom of the human mind. For here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it.