Pardubice will provide the first five million for the renovation of the Larisch Villa

Pardubice - Pardubice want to support the restoration of the historic Larisch Villa with five million crowns. The building, in which the Nazis imprisoned and interrogated Czech patriots during the war, belongs to the Czechoslovak Legionary Community, which does not have funds for its restoration. The grant will be approved by the city councilors on Thursday.

Of the grant, 1.2 million crowns will be used for emergency repairs and the restoration of the tower. An additional 3.8 million crowns will be allocated to the restoration of the villa and the operationalization of the basement and memorial. Last year, the small tower was dismantled, a bearing part of the roof was constructed, restoration work on individual elements began, and a treatment against woodworm was carried out.

"At the last meeting we approved that for three years we will allocate five million crowns annually for the Larisch Villa," ODS councilor Petr Klimpl told reporters today.

In 2017, Pardubice supported the Legionary Community with half a million crowns for the repair of the roof and ceilings, and last year donated 700,000 crowns for the static reinforcement of the supporting parts of the tower and ongoing restoration work. The Pardubický Region contributed the same amounts for the building's repair. Like Pardubice, it will invest 15 million crowns in the renovations of the Larisch Villa over the three years.

An estimated 55 to 70 million crowns are needed for a complete reconstruction. The state could also contribute to repairs through an individual grant. The declaration as a national cultural monument should also help with the rescue.

The neo-Renaissance villa, referred to as the Zámeček in Pardubice, was built in 1855 on the outskirts of the city as a representative residence for Baron Jiří Larisch-Mönich. During the German occupation, it was owned by a police regiment from Kolín. In the basements of the building during the heyday of Heydrich in 1942, the Nazis interrogated collaborators of the parachutists from the Silver A group as well as residents of Ležáky, who were subsequently shot at a nearby shooting range.

After the war, the villa housed a school for officer cadets, and from 1956, it had offices and storage for Tesla Pardubice. In 2000, the entire industrial complex, including the villa, was bought by Foxconn, which transferred the long-unused Zámeček free of charge in 2015 to the Czechoslovak Legionary Community. The Legionaries plan to create a museum of the heyday of Heydrich and domestic and foreign resistance in the building. The so-called Zámeček will feature an exhibition hall and additional exhibition rooms. A lecture hall for up to 100 people will be prepared for lectures and cultural performances.