In the Krnov Flemmich Villa, there will be an exhibition about architects

Krnov (Bruntál region) - The city of Krnov is preparing an exhibition of Art Nouveau and individualist modernity for the Flemmich Villa. The permanent exhibition will be dedicated to Europeanly renowned architects who were born in Northern Moravia. The villa will also feature applied arts designed by Krnov native Leopold Bauer, Opava native J. F. Olbrich, and the villa’s architect Otto Prutscher. The city wants to open the museum exhibition for 300,000 crowns in September, having received half of the funds from the Moravian-Silesian Region, said Krnov spokesperson Dita Círová to the Czech News Agency (ČTK).
    Architects Bauer, Olbrich, and Prutscher have left a significant mark in Krnov. "Students of the famous Vienna architect Otto Wagner significantly influenced the city; for example, Bauer designed villas for Krnov's industrialists who operated in the city before the war. The Flemmich Villa, built according to Prutscher's design in 1914, is one of the few objects of modernity that belongs to the city," said Mayor Renata Ramazanová to ČTK.
    According to her, the exhibition is a great opportunity to present these architects also as designers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. "Prutscher designed everything from coffee spoons to gardens. However, restoring the original furnishings of the villa would be difficult, as they only appear at auctions across Europe. It will be essential to create a new period interior in collaboration with the applied arts museums in Brno and Prague," the mayor hinted.
    The staff of the Krnov museum will prepare a conceptual plan for the exhibition by the end of March, and a detailed list of items it will contain should be ready by the end of April. This summer, the Flemmich Villa is set to undergo a structural and historical survey for potential renovations. "We will open part of the exhibition in the fall; the entire interior of the villa will be completed by 2010," specified the director of the City Information and Cultural Center, Kateřina Lindovská.
    A gallery for temporary exhibits will be created on another floor of the building, welcoming visitors as early as the end of April. The first exhibition titled "Long Safari from Opava to Kenya" will commemorate the Opava roots of the writer and animal rights advocate Joy Adamson. Other exhibitions will likely feature works by Krnov artists from the A13 group and students from elementary art schools.
    The villa on Hlubčická street was built as a family residence by the prominent Krnov industrialist Theodor Flemmich, who lived there until 1948. After that, the city housed eight families in it for three years, and from 1951 to 2003, the entire complex served as an infant institute. The villa, outbuildings, greenhouse, orchard, and ornamental and utility gardens have been empty since 2004 when the Moravian-Silesian Region transferred the complex to the city with the condition that it would not be used for commercial purposes.
    Almost 8,500 residents of Krnov participated in last year's city survey about the use of the villa. More than a quarter of them wished for the main building to be used again for children and also for the disabled. Ultimately, the council decided that the villa would become a museum, gallery, and community center. The Silesian Diaconia has expressed interest in the outbuilding, where they would create training apartments for their clients. "They would use the greenhouse for occupational therapy, take care of the garden, and maintain the walkways in winter," specified Círová. The decision regarding the social use of the building will be made by the city council.