Functionalist furniture in the apartment on Hlinky Street in Brno is being examined by restorers

Brno – The built-in functionalist furniture, including a coat closet lined with zinc sheet on the inside to protect against moths, has been preserved in the former apartment of the Herdan couple in Brno’s Hlinky area. The interior, discovered and appreciated only two years ago, is currently being studied by restorers. They are preparing a restoration plan. They are analyzing, for example, the types of wood used. So far, they have found walnut, maple, oak, but also Finnish birch, rosewood, and other rare woods.

"We are currently working on the precise identification of exotic woods,” said restorer Radek Ryšánek to reporters today. The interior from 1933 served a wealthy family, but upon detailed examination of the individual elements, it is evident that even people from higher social classes sometimes chose striking yet cheaper solutions. For example, the pattern on the paneling in one room imitates more luxurious wood.

"There are a lot of interesting technical solutions here, many interesting materials, and interesting aesthetic solutions that often arose from the apparent effort to save on more expensive and costly materials,” stated Ryšánek. Overall, he describes the interior as a rare example of contemporary living culture, but also of furniture making in Brno and its surroundings.

Students from the Higher Vocational School of Restoration worked on the survey under Ryšánek's leadership. They will now build on their findings with the development of a restoration plan.

In addition to restoring the furniture, there are plans to renovate the apartment. Architect Jindřich Škrabal is preparing the project for the construction work, which will likely begin in the fall. "It primarily involves the repair of inadequate electrical wiring, water and heating distribution, restoration of plaster, and refurbishment of floors and doors. An absolutely essential condition is the maximum preservation of the original appearance and materials, or the closest possible approximation to period standards,” stated the mayor of Brno-střed, Vojtěch Mencl. Everything could be completed next year.

The apartment is managed by the municipal district. The tenants will no longer live there. After the renovation, it will serve as a space for exhibitions, chamber concerts, or social gatherings.

The house on Hlinky was owned during the First Republic by Jewish merchant Eugen Teltscher and his wife Elsa. Their daughter Johanna married Richard Herdan in 1933, an engineer and head of the export department of Škodovy závody for South America. The bride's father presumably had the apartment newly furnished and gifted it to the newlyweds. The Herdans moved to work at a company branch abroad in 1938, thus escaping the Holocaust.

Teltscher then briefly rented out the apartment, but the Nazis confiscated the house, and the owners perished in concentration camps. After the war, tenants lived in the apartment, leaving the built-in furniture and the overall layout of the apartment almost unchanged. Only the kitchen and bathroom underwent a complete reconstruction. Most of the period furnishings also disappeared. Thus, after the renovation, the apartment will likely be furnished with items from the deposits of Brno museums and galleries.