Pelléova vila (Dobřichovice) Villa

Welcome to Dobřichovice. Stop for a moment, take a breath and look in front of you. You're standing in front of a building that's been carrying stories for decades, talking about the friendship of nations and the desire for beauty and peace. Before you is Pellé's villa, a building that stands out from the surroundings and immediately lures you with its nobility. Feel its separate location in the space, which allows the building to stand out fully and you can admire it from each side without stopping you from doing anything. It's a place where the privacy of a family home meets a representative character of the mansion of prominent personalities.

Let us now return in time more than a hundred and forty years back, to the end of the nineteenth century. It was a time of great change when cities grew and richer layers of society began to seek refuge outside the noisy center. It was during this period, namely in the years one thousand eight hundred eighty-two to eighty-three, that this villa was created. Its creator was architect František Buldra, who designed it for husband and wife Verich. At that time, the era of historism ruled, which was the direction that he liked to return to the elements of the past, and at the same time there was the beginning of the process that we now know as suburbanisation, namely the movement of the population to suburban areas, to better air and peace. For the husband and wife of Verich, this villa was perhaps the embodiment of their dreams of modern but elegant living in the vicinity of nature.

Now please pay attention to the architecture itself. Look carefully at the overall composition of the house. The building is performed in a classical style, which means that it emphasizes the balance, order and purity of the lines. Notice the elements that dominate the whole look. A two-story prism tower is likely to fly up with your eyes. This tower is not only an ornament, but it provides construction of dynamics and certain castles that were not used in the residential family houses of that time. Further focus on the so-called risality, i.e. those parts of the facade that slightly appear in front of the wall. It is these elements that break the monotony of the walls and create a game of light and shadow that changes the appearance of the villa throughout the day depending on the position of the sun. The whole house looks harmonious and radiates a calm that was so important to the people of the late nineteenth century.

When you look at the facade like that, you might think about how names have been added to this house that sound very important in our history. Let's move to the year one thousand nine hundred twenty-one. This year, the owner of the villa changed. French General Maurice Pellé purchased the building. Imagine what a break it must have been for this place when a high-ranking French army officer settled here. General Pellé was not only a stranger in our countries, but a symbol of a strong link between France and the newly created Czechoslovak Republic. The villa became a place where personal ambitions, military discipline and diplomatic relations intertwined.

Thanks to the general. Pellou had events in these walls that had a historical dimension. Imagine the year one thousand nine hundred twenty-three. There was some excitement in Dobřichovice because General Pellý's villa was visited by President Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk himself. Imagine these two men, one of the most important statesmen of the twentieth century and an experienced French general, discussing in the living room or passing through the garden. It was a time of optimism, state building and strengthening international relations. Unfortunately, this chapter ended rather early because General Maurice Pellé died already in the year one thousand nine hundred twenty-four. Yet his name remained so strongly connected to this villa that the building is still under it today.

Now I want to invite you to one very special part of the villa, which you should definitely not miss. Let's focus on the south facade together. If you look at the ground floor porch, you will see something that is absolutely unique in the whole context of Czech art. There are painted folk motifs. These paintings were created by the artist Zdenka Braunerová, who was part of an important family of artists, where Jarmila Braunerová worked. What makes this detail so special is the fact that it is the only wall painting in all of the work of the House of Brauner. It is a small but rare piece of art that brings an element of humanity and playfulness to classical architecture. It is fascinating to think that right here, in Dobřichovice, this single sample of her work with the painting on the wall is preserved. It's a hidden treasure that only one who looks closely at the building reveals.

Now try to imagine the atmosphere in this house in the days of the first republic. The smell of fresh tobacco, the sound of foreign languages, the rustling of newspapers and the discussion of the future of Europe. This villa was not just an ordinary house, it was a representative gateway to the world of the then elite. Every detail, from the prism tower to the fine folk motifs on the porch, tells its own story about the people who lived here and about the time that had passed, but left its trail in architecture.

Now, when you look around, look at how this historic building is being inserted into today's landscape. It's like an island in time that reminds us that even in small towns places with great history can be hidden. Pelli's villa is proof of how the personal destinies of individuals, such as married men Verich and general Pellé, can intersect with great politics and art.

Thank you for accompanying me on this short journey through history and architecture. Now the building belongs to you. I suggest you go around it all over again, look at the details of the tower and get inspired by the paintings of the wall Brauner. Feel the peace and quiet surrounding the villas, and try to imagine what the walls of this house would tell you if they could talk. I wish you a pleasant exploration of the surroundings and a beautiful rest of the day in Dobřichovice. Goodbye.