Brno acquired four pieces of original furniture from the Tugendhat villa

Brno - Four pieces of original furniture will return to the Tugendhat villa in Brno. The Museum of the City of Brno purchased them for approximately 7.5 million crowns from the youngest daughter of the original owners, Daniela Hammer-Tugendhatová. The city will restore the sideboard, bench, small table, and armchair and will place them in the villa, which was repaired and opened to the public in 2012. The furniture, declared a movable cultural monument, had been stored in the Museum of the City of Brno for many years, said Pavel Žára, spokesperson for the Brno city authority, to ČTK.
    "The original pieces of furniture were part of the original interior of the functionalist villa, designed as a comprehensive artistic work by architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe," Žára explained. According to him, the interior and furniture creations of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich from the interwar period are among the icons of 20th-century world design.
    Hammer-Tugendhatová approached the city with an offer to sell in 2011. "I am glad that there are no imitations in the villa, but originals," said Hammer-Tugendhatová, whose family first transferred the villa to the ownership of Brno and has now agreed to sell the four pieces of furniture. Over time, a stool paid for by an anonymous donor will also be added to them.
    The originals were also appreciated by Brno's mayor Roman Onderka (ČSSD). "An original is always a unique matter that represents a piece of history. I am convinced that positive history should return, and if there is an opportunity, we should take advantage of it. This is exactly what happened with the Tugendhat villa, and I am glad about it," Onderka told ČTK.
    The Museum of the City of Brno has submitted a request to the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic for funding for the purchase, which the ministry is currently reviewing. Vienna, the partner city, has also promised financial assistance of 20,000 euros. According to Vienna's mayor Michael Häupl, the villa, listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, has extraordinary significance.
    The Tugendhat villa is a unique functionalist work by the German architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, who created the design for the couple Greta and Fritz Tugendhat. The villa was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2001. Brno renovated it and opened it to the public in 2012.