The famous villas of Pilsen and their fate will be presented in a new exhibition

Plzeň - The West Bohemian Museum invites you to an exhibition about the famous villas of the city of Pilsen. Visitors will be introduced to 28 villa buildings and single-family homes built in Pilsen from the 1870s to the present. People will learn about the creation of valuable objects, their subsequent fates, and their current condition. Works by significant architects will be on display, including the world-renowned Adolf Loos. This information about the exhibition was provided to ČTK by curator Lenka Jirátová.
     "Each building is dedicated to a separate panel with text, current and archival photographs, and plans. The selected objects are examples of architectural thinking, showcasing a lifestyle and characterizing their creators, owners, and residents," she stated.
     Many significant names from the golden era of villa architecture are associated with the Pilsen region and the city of Pilsen, such as Bohumil Hübschmann, Adolf Loos and his collaborator Karel Lhota, Heinrich Kulka, and others. "Among the most significant monuments of villa architecture in Pilsen is, for instance, the Art Nouveau villa of Karel Kestřánek and apartments by Adolf Loos. From the period of functionalism, the villa of Jan Rohrer or the villa of Karel Tomášek is notable," she added.
     Many objects and their owners had a turbulent fate; for example, the Art Nouveau villa of Karel Kestřánek, built according to the design of Vienna architect František Krásný, suffered not only from the construction of the four-lane Karlovarská Avenue in Pilsen but also from poorly executed repairs by the new owner from 1994 to 1995. "It was a very bold, extraordinary building for its time. The architect had already left the strict Wagnerian classicism and gave the villa's façade a poetic character," Jirátová stated. After the reconstruction of Karlovarská Avenue in the 1970s, the villa, previously situated in the middle of a garden, found itself on the edge of the road. To comply with the required sidewalk width, the dominant staircase in front of the main entrance was removed, and the entrance was bricked up. The value of the object also suffered from interventions in the 1990s when the new owner carried out repairs without consulting with heritage officials and the building authority.
     In addition to older buildings, the exhibition also presents contemporary architecture, among which the Skalka villa stands out.
     The exhibition, which will last until January 6, is supplemented by a selection of additional buildings from the exhibition "Famous Villas of Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia." Visitors can thus compare Pilsen's architecture with the architecture of family houses throughout the Czech Republic.