The foundation is raising money for the restoration of the gazebo at the Čerych villa

Prague/Czech Skalice - The garden gazebo at the first-republic villa Čerych in Czech Skalice, designed by architect Otakar Novotný, the author of the famous Prague Mánes, needs restoration. The Foundation for the Development of Civil Society, which received the villa from its owners, has launched a fundraiser for its repair. The art deco villa is also known for being the setting of Václav Havel's film Leaving. The villa is open to the public, and the covered gazebo is a popular venue for weddings. The organizers of the fundraiser aim to raise 150,000 crowns for its restoration. CTK was informed about this by Johana Turnerová.

The Čerych villa was built in the 1920s. It was designed by the prominent Czech architect Otakar Novotný, the author of the Mánes building or the commercial and residential building of publisher Štenc in Prague. With its extensive garden, it is an example of a house integrated into a carefully planned garden composition. The covered gazebo, for which funds are being raised for restoration, holds a dominant position in the garden.

The Čerych family used the villa as their residence since 1925, but in 1948 the house was confiscated. Since then, the building has been used as the headquarters of the regional political school of the Czechoslovak Youth Union and later as a health center. The garden designed by architect Josef Kumpán fell into disrepair, and some parts of the park transformed into a jungle. Gradually, the swimming pool deteriorated and the gazebos collapsed, while the rose garden completely disappeared.

In 1989, the villa, which had since been declared a cultural monument, was returned to its original owners, and ten years later, the health center vacated it. In 2001, the Čerych brothers donated the villa to the Foundation for the Development of Civil Society. Two years later, the educational center Villa Čerych was established there.