Severočeské muzeum presents the famous villas of the region

Liberec - The charm and stories of the famous villas of the Liberec region are unveiled in an exhibition of the same name that started today at the North Bohemian Museum in Liberec. The exhibition is traveling and will gradually visit other locations in the region and the Czech Republic. It features 50 exceptional buildings from 17 locations in the region built from the 1870s to the present day. The architecture accurately reflects the historical stages of development in the region, said Marek Veselý from the agency Foibos, which organized the exhibition and also published a book overview of the famous villas.
    "This is the seventh book and the seventh exhibition in the Famous Villas series," he added. The authors were motivated to map out the famous Czech and Moravian villas by public interest in Trmal’s and other Prague villas. Gradually, this has led to a series dedicated to the villas of all regions. The series will consist of 15 volumes and will present 736 objects from 400 architects. The project Famous Villas of Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia is patroned by the president’s wife, Livia Klausová.
    The exhibition and publication on the villas of the Liberec region showcase typical examples of buildings representing individual, distinct historical stages, delineated by two wars and then a forty-year era of socialism. "Wars disrupted developmental continuity in the border regions. After World War II, the German population was also expelled from the towns in the Sudetenland," Veselý pointed out.
    According to architects, the Liberec region is unique in that it combines Czech and German influences. The Liberec town hall is a scaled-down replica of the Viennese one, and the villas from the monarchical era were designed by architects from Munich, Vienna, Nuremberg, or Berlin, alongside local builders. However, in the Turnov area, construction was mainly done by Czech architects, added Veselý. According to the series editor Pavel Halík, the garden districts of Liberec, such as the noble Masarykova Avenue, are unique and have no equivalent in the country.
    Most of the famous villas are inhabited by the third to fourth generation of families. Over time, they have undergone sensitive as well as brutal modifications. Perhaps the worst fate befell the Neo-Renaissance villa of Josef Elstner in Jablonné v Podještědí. The intricately designed building, resembling more of a castle, became famous for its appearance in the film Family Troubles of Official Třísky. It is now in poor condition, and no one is interested in it. In contrast, Schmelowského villa in Jablonec nad Nisou, an example of aerodynamic functionalism, is much luckier. The layout of the house and the design of the interiors are timeless, allowing it to serve the satisfaction of its current owners without modifications to this day.