The rare engraving will return to Beneš's villa in Sezimovo Ústí after 88 years

Sezimovo Ústí – A rare engraving by the graphic artist Václav Hollar will return after 88 years to the villa of the second Czechoslovak president Edvard Beneš in Sezimovo Ústí in the Tábor region. The engraving Jerusalem was dedicated by the president's wife Hana to the family before the war. On Monday, June 15, the descendants of the president’s nephew will present it to the Hussite Museum in Tábor, which manages the villa. Kateřina Nimrichtrová from the Hussite Museum informed ČTK about this today.

The engraving was part of the villa's interior. In 1938, before leaving for exile in London, Hana Benešová dedicated it in memory to the family of her husband's nephew Bohuš Beneš and his wife Emilia. "After 88 years, this work of art is returning to its original place in the villa of the Beneš couple in Sezimovo Ústí. The engraving will be personally brought to the Czech Republic by Tuska Benes, the granddaughter of Bohuš and Emilia Beneš," said Nimrichtrová.

This year, the Hussite Museum in Tábor took over the management of Beneš's villa. After more than 50 years, the last will of the president's wife Hana has thus been fulfilled, who bequeathed the villa to the museum. However, after her death in 1974, the building was taken over by the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic, and the property became a government recreational facility.

The villa in Sezimovo Ústí, located at the confluence of the Kozský stream and the Lužnice river, was built for the Beneš couple in the early 1930s according to the design of architect Petr Kropáček. The then Minister of Foreign Affairs and his wife were inspired by houses in southern France. The final shape of the villa was given in 1937 by architect Otokar Fierlinger, who is also the author of the design of the extensive garden.