<p>For a tour of the Medova Villa in Humpolec, 170 people have already shown interest.</p>

Humpolec - 170 people have already expressed interest in touring the Medova Villa in Humpolec. Inside the heritage-protected building designed by architect Josef Gočár, visitors will find an almost authentic apartment of the original owner, as well as office and storage spaces of his company, which have undergone only minor changes. The unique functionalist building in the Vysočina region was purchased by the municipality for nearly 25 million a few months ago. Without major interventions, they decided to make it accessible starting May 3rd. Tickets are available online for 100 crowns, said Natálie Brzoňová, who will guide visitors through the building.

According to her, the guided tours have mainly attracted locals, who had the opportunity to visit the house when medical offices operated on its first floor. The apartment, where the original owners could still live even after the nationalization of the villa, has never been accessible. "The living room and library are almost completely preserved. In the apartment, on its lower floor, there are additional rooms, including a children's room and a bedroom. Then you go up the stairs. There are two more smaller rooms, and there is access to the terrace there," Brzoňová said.

The municipality plans to restore the terrace as well as the lower part with offices and warehouses, from which the builder of the villa, fabric merchant Otakar Med, dispatched his goods.

According to the mayor of Humpolec, Petr Machek (HumpolecGO!), the villa is a symbol of the city's textile history. Its value also lies in the personality of the architect who designed it. For this reason, the municipality is discussing with experts the possibility of declaring it a national cultural monument. It would be the only one from the 20th century in the Vysočina region.

In addition to guided tours, the municipality wants to use the villa for intimate cultural and social events. After renovations, the first floor could also be transformed into a temporary exhibition space.

Original plans and a paper model of the villa have been preserved. Thanks to a wealth of period photographs, it will also be possible to historically recreate the garden that surrounds it. The first clearing of invasive tree species in the garden has already begun this spring. So far, only four photos from the apartment's interior have been found, some of which were directly in Gočár's estate. However, it is clear from them that not only the built-in furniture but also many individual pieces are original. "We certainly want to restore the villa to the state it was in when the owners began to use it. But that will obviously incur significant financial costs and won't happen right away. We will try to utilize various grant titles," Machek added. The villa was built in 1933 and 1934.