Repairs of the Larisch Villa have so far cost around 50 million CZK, and they are about halfway done

Pardubice - The Legionnaires continue the restoration of the Larisch Villa in Pardubice. They now plan to create a training area for paratroopers or a golden room that will feature a café. This was reported to ČTK by František Bobek from the Czechoslovak Legionary Community. The villa is one of the locations associated with the Heydrichiada. The Nazis imprisoned, interrogated, and shot the inhabitants of the village of Ležáky at a nearby execution site. This year marks the 80th anniversary of these tragic events.

Since 2015, with the help of subsidies, the Legionnaires have invested around 50 million crowns in repairs. They are also putting their own money into the reconstruction and have received contributions from the region, city, and the Ministry of Culture. Bobek stated that the organization will need about the same amount again to complete the project.

This year, the training area behind the villa in the forest park is set to be developed, which will resemble the training center where paratroopers trained in Scotland. "We have completed the study, and I believe we will begin the modifications so that there will be some obstacles and simulators there this year, allowing kids to train like paratroopers during our projects," said Bobek.

The 19th-century villa has undergone a completed restoration survey. According to restorers, one room had gilded walls and ceiling. Bobek hopes to restore it to its original state. It should then house a café called Veselka. The hotel with a café once existed in the city but is no longer in operation. Hotelier Erno Košťál was involved in the resistance and employed paratrooper Josef Valčík from the Silver A resistance group under a false name.

With the city's help, the Legionnaires are also working to connect the Larisch Villa with the Zámeček Memorial. The road along which the Germans led patriots to the execution site belongs to Foxconn. "We are looking for a technical solution. There are two access roads, and the company has a fleet there. I believe this can be resolved with a corridor; around it could be fencing with barbed wire to remind people of the terrible events," said Bobek.

Since 2015, the Legionnaires have ensured the repair of the roof and tower. The sand walls around the house have been treated. "Everything has been stripped down to the foundation seam; the walls have been treated to a depth of three meters and are insulated. There are English courtyards here. Next year, the area will be paved," Bobek stated.

The neo-Renaissance villa from 1885 had been deteriorating for years. It originally belonged to Jiří Larisch-Mönich, a descendent of a coal baron family. During the German occupation, it was owned by a police regiment from Kolín. After the war, the villa housed a school for officer cadets, and from 1956 it belonged to Tesla, which had offices and warehouses there.

In 2000, the industrial complex, including the dilapidated villa, was purchased by Foxconn. A security firm named ABL operated there for a while, but most of the space was vacant. In 2012, Foxconn negotiated a sale with DDVS Partners, which considered establishing a nursing home in the villa and later turning it into a wine warehouse. However, the transaction did not take place.

Since 2011, the Zámeček Association has been striving to save the villa. Thanks to its contribution, the building became a city monument. The association negotiated with the city to help save the property, but these negotiations were unsuccessful. Later, the association approached the Legionnaires and acquired the villa from Foxconn free of charge at the end of 2014.