The Pardubice Region will acquire half of the Larisch Villa, which will open to the public after renovations

Pardubice - A partial change of ownership of the Larisch Villa in Pardubice will bring stabilization to its operation. František Bobek from the Czechoslovak Legionnaire Community, which owns the building, said this to ČTK. The national cultural monument, also known as Zámeček, is a reminder of the tragic events during the heyday of the Heydrich regime, and it is scheduled to reopen to the public in 2028 after repairs. The Legionnaire Community will donate half of the villa to the region, which will subsidize the repairs with tens of millions of crowns.

"It is a positive step for the future. We realize that the operation of Zámeček will be challenging given its size. The financial capabilities of the Legionnaire Community are limited. Based on the fact that the region is subsidizing the monument and has donated the most of all donors, we decided, by mutual agreement, to donate half of Zámeček to them. We will present this to the members at the assembly, who must approve it, and we are waiting for their decision,” said Bobek.

The Larisch Villa, built in the second half of the 19th century, was owned by Foxconn since 2000 and was in a state of disrepair for a long time. Since 2011, the civic association "For the Rescue of Zámeček" has wanted to change this, unsuccessfully negotiating with the city and other entities to try to obtain and save the building. In 2014, Foxconn agreed and donated it to the legionnaires.

At that time, efforts to restore the villa began, which became a national cultural monument in 2019. With the help of the region and the city, the legionnaires started repairs. The region gradually provided 45 million crowns, and Pardubice allocated 17 million crowns. The association also received a European grant of 55 million crowns. "Zámeček is still a construction site; we aim to complete the building work by the end of next year, and then we will install exhibitions. We plan to officially open Zámeček during 2028,” said Bobek.

The villa has a repaired tower, a cellar where memorial events take place, a dining room with a fireplace, and an surrounding amphitheater for commemorative gatherings. At the same time, members of the association are working on the exhibitions. They will present both domestic and foreign resistance. In the cellar, there will also be a memorial for the children from the village of Ležáky who were burned by the Nazis.

In the atrium, there are bells that will toll on the anniversary days of the executions. The Germans shot 194 people at a nearby shooting range, including residents from the village of Ležáky and other patriots who helped the Silver A parachute unit during World War II. "The region will likely commission the East Bohemian Museum to work with us on the operation. We have commitments arising from the European grant, and we will be open six days a week,” said Bobek.