The Löw-Beer villa in Brno was owned by Greta Tugendhat's parents

villa

Prague - The Löw-Beer villa in Brno, which was opened to the public after renovation ten years ago, on January 16, 2016, is one of the significant landmarks of the Moravian metropolis. This Art Nouveau building from the early 20th century in the Brno district of Černá Pole, while not as architecturally extraordinary as the neighboring Tugendhat villa, somehow belongs to the "family" - the wealthy industrialists Löw-Beer, who inhabited the villa from 1913 to 1939, were in fact the parents of Greta Tugendhat, for whom they had the functionalist gem built. Both villas are located on the same plot, with an extensive garden stretching between them. Today, the Löw-Beer villa offers a museum exhibition and a café, Café Löw-Beer, in the garden, and is alive with a rich cultural program.

And just like the Tugendhat family, the Löw-Beers did not enjoy the famous villa for long. The building on Drobného Street in Brno was constructed between 1903 and 1904 by textile industrialist Moriz Fuhrmann according to the design of Viennese architect Alexander von Neumann. After Fuhrmann's death, his sons sold the villa in August 1903 for 290,000 crowns to industrialist Alfred Löw-Beer, who belonged to an extensive family of wool manufacturers.

In the one-story villa, according to its internet page, there were four apartments, 14 rooms, three kitchens, two bathrooms, and six toilets. The street and garden façades of the villa were adorned with Art Nouveau vegetative stucco decoration and a banded rustication at the lower part. A similar decoration was also used on the walls and ceilings in the interiors. Art Nouveau plant motifs were also found on the ceramic flooring and the wrought iron railing of the staircase.

During the Löw-Beer era, there were modifications to the staircase hall, with the author of the modifications being Viennese architect Rudolf Baumfeld. In March 1939, however, the family of Alfred Löw-Beer went into exile; Alfred followed the family in May 1939, but perished while fleeing. Subsequently, Professor Alfred Watzke from Brno was appointed as the curator of the abandoned villa. In February 1940, the Germans confiscated the villa for the needs of the Gestapo, and in January 1942, the house was transferred to the ownership of the Greater German Empire. At that time, the house was managed by the Property Office of the Reich Protector.

In the spring of 1945, the villa was damaged by several direct bomb hits, and moreover, the Gestapo completely looted the building before leaving: "From the original equipment, only what was affixed to the wall remained. This means the cladding or staircase and a safe in the wall. And about four years ago, the wooden cover for the heating returned," listed the head of the villa, Vladimír Březina, last October. Now, a unique famous secretary, the only piece of furniture preserved from the original fittings, is returning to the villa.

In 1946, a national administration was established over the building, and for a short time, the American Institute operated here, offering screenings of American documentary films, lectures on travel in America, or celebrations of Independence Day. In 1954, the villa became the property of Czechoslovakia and that same year, a branch of the Masaryk Student Home was established here. The youth home functioned continuously in the villa's premises until 2012.

In 2001, the villa was transferred to the ownership of the South Moravian Region, and since 2012, it has been managed by the Museum of Brno. From 2013 to 2014, the villa underwent extensive reconstruction, including the regeneration of the garden. Since 2016, the entire complex, including the villa's interiors, has been accessible to the public.

Today, the villa features a museum exhibition titled Jews in Moravia. The villa and its inhabitants introduce visitors to the history of Jewish settlement in the region from the first mentions to the present. The unique spaces of the villa come alive with chamber music concerts, exhibitions, and theatrical performances. A specialty here is the immersive treasure hunt game titled In the Skin of a Secret Agent, based on the fate of the Löw-Beer family and awarded as the Museum Achievement of the Year 2021.

The Löw-Beer villa is open from Tuesday to Sunday, including holidays, from ten to eighteen hours, and it is visited by approximately 50,000 people annually. In the beautiful garden, it is possible to visit an outdoor cinema during the summer months; for example, a four-day film mini-festival took place here last September. This garden is connected with the gardens of the Tugendhat villa and the neighboring Arnold villa, creating a unique complex in close proximity. Visitors can freely walk back and forth between the gardens of the Löw-Beer villa and the gardens of the neighboring villas, as the gate in the plot fencing is open depending on the operating hours of the individual villas.