Kramářova vila Villa

Kramářova vila, located on the easternmost tip of Hradčan in Prague 1, is a neo-Baroque building with Art Nouveau elements built for the famous politician Karel Kramář. It originated between 1912 and 1915 and has been serving as an official residence of Czech prime ministers since 1998. Its historical and architectural importance lies in its rich heritage, which includes political events and artistic creation.

The villa was built on the site of the former Prague Mariánské walls, specifically where the bastion of St. Mary Magdalena used to stand. Karel Kramář, then influential politician and later first Prime Minister of the Czechoslovak Republic, purchased the land in 1911 from the Prague City Council. When buying, he undertook to build only a single-storey building with a front facing Vltava, which would not block the panoramic view of Prague Castle.

The project of the villa was prepared by the Vienna architect Friedrich Ohmann between 1910 and 1913. He designed an extensive historical building with a mansard roof, risotto coming out of the south and west facades, a byzantinizing salon and a dining room. The villa had an area of 700 m ² and contained a total of 56 rooms which served mainly representative purposes. Ohmann invited teachers from the School of Arts in Prague, such as Jan Beneš and Karel Štípl, to decorate the interiors.

The construction was commissioned in 1912 by Josef Čámská and lasted three years. There were 433 400 bricks, 16600 tiles and other materials. The construction work was managed by the construction board Jan Rosenberg, 50 to 70 people worked here during the summer and the work continued during the winter. The construction bill (without internal equipment) doubled to 800,000 Austrian crowns, the total cost of the construction was more than a million crowns.

In addition to the representative rooms, there were two private bedrooms in the villa, offices and technical equipment typical of the luxury houses of the time, such as a domestic elevator or dust pump. Karel Kramář's work had a ceiling of 7.5 metres high and a green marble fireplace.

On 13 May 1915 Kramářov moved into the villa. A week later, the police arrested Karl Kramar for all-Slavic propaganda and imprisoned in Vienna, where he was later sentenced to death. They left the villa and returned only after Kramer's release after the imperial amnesty in 1917.

After the death of Kramářová, the company was managed by Dr. Karl Kramář, who rented the villa of the National Gallery. In 1948 the company was disbanded and the villa belonged to the National Museum. Since 1952 she has been under the administration of the Office of the Bureau of the Government, where she has gradually decayed.

The Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic declared the villa a cultural monument in 1991 and extensive reconstruction took place between 1994 and 1998. After reconstruction, the villa serves as the residence of the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, where guests were such as Miloš Zeman, Vladimir Špidla and Andrej Babiš.

Today, Kramářova vila is not only a monument to architecture, but also an important place in Czech political history. Its rich heritage and artistic creation make it interesting to visit where visitors can learn more about the life of Karel Kramár and the history of the Czech Republic.