People can view the normally inaccessible Thonet villa in Koryčany

Koryčany – Interested parties can view the Thonet villa in Koryčany in the Kroměříž region, decorated with flowers, starting today. The dilapidated monument from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries is usually inaccessible. Floral arrangements by florist Slávek Rabušice will be on display in the villa until Sunday, April 19, historian and curator of the Thonet villa Petra Svobodová told ČTK. The villa was built for the family of the inventor of bent furniture, Michael Thonet, who established his first Moravian factory in Koryčany.

The investors of the villa were Alfred Thonet, the grandson of Michael Thonet, and his wife Ida. The exhibition, which started today, is titled Flowers for Ida. Floral arrangements were complemented by works from students of the artistic field of the Basic Art Schools in Zdounky and Koryčany, who were inspired by Art Nouveau. "The floral arrangements and student works will certainly enliven the interior of the villa, which is still awaiting reconstruction. This year, the town of Koryčany will commemorate the successful business family of the Thonets with a series of events," Svobodová said.

The exhibition mainly takes place in the villa's staircase hall, which many locals refer to as a small castle, and also in the adjacent salon. During the weekend of April 11 and 12, visitors will be guided through the floral arrangements by their creator Rabušic and the villa by historian Svobodová, in the form of guided tours.

In 1893, Alfred Thonet married Ida Wanner, a native of the USA. The Wanner family was among the leading collaborators of the Thonets on the American continent. "The marriage produced four children. In 1896, Alfred had a family house built in Koryčany, not far from the bent furniture factory, following a design by the world-famous Vienna studio Fellner & Helmer," the exhibition organizers stated. This exhibition is part of the project Thonet Heritage / 230 years since the birth of Michael Thonet.

The owner of the villa, which served as a kindergarten or grocery store after World War II, has been the town for several years. It is striving for extensive repair costing tens of millions of crowns. In the future, the town hall is planned to be relocated into the building, which should also include a ceremonial hall, library, information center, and an exhibition dedicated to the Thonet family. The villa is only occasionally accessible to the public, for example during the European Heritage Days.

After establishing the Koryčany factory, Michael Thonet also founded a plant in Bystřice pod Hostýnem in 1861, where the TON company still produces bent furniture. The Koryčany factory merged with the company Kohn and Mundus after World War I and later became a national enterprise. In the 1990s, the factory was acquired by the Koryna company, which went bankrupt in 2012, and its assets were sold off.