Rodinný dům Julia Pelikána House

Welcome, esteemed visitors, to one of the most beautiful and peaceful parts of Olomouc, New Street. Please stop for a moment and focus fully on the building that is now standing right in front of you. You are standing in front of the family home of Julius Pelikan, a building which is not just an ordinary residential house, but a real testament to a very interesting era of Czech architecture and art. The first impression that radiates from it is a sense of stability, but also a certain playfulness and unshakable character. Look at its overall appearance and see how this building differs from the surrounding houses. It is a place where the personal need of an artist meets the vision of an architect, and it is this dialogue that you can feel today, just standing here and watching her face.

Let us now return together in time almost a hundred years back to the time when Olomouc began drawing a new picture of the city. It is the year nine hundred twenty-four and there is a plan to build this house in Olomouc. It was specially made for a sculptor named Julius Pelikán. Imagine the atmosphere of the first republic, the age of optimism, the bloom of culture and the search for a new, own identity. It was in this spirit that the house was designed by architect Josef Štěpek. The construction work lasted for a short time, from the year nine hundred twenty-four to the year nine hundred twenty-five, and the result was this one-storey brick house, which was to serve not only as a family nest but above all as a place of creation. For a sculptor, home is not only a place of rest, it is a space where works are created, where material is fought and where peace and light are needed. This is why the house was designed to combine the privacy of family life with demanding work in studios.

Now pay attention to the architecture itself, because it is the most precious thing in it. If you look at the shapes and lines of the house, you'll notice that it's not a solid or simple object. This house is one of the representatives of modern rondocubism. You may have heard this name for the first time, but just look carefully. Rondocubism was at that time in a very specific Czech direction, which took sharp edges and the rigour of cubism and softened them with circles, arches and cylindrical shapes. It's a style that wanted to express national pride and joy from a new beginning. Look at the front of the house. Note how architect Josef Štěpánek worked with surfaces and volumes. The whole building is single storey, but it looks very balanced.

A particularly interesting detail that I would like to draw your attention to is the surface of the facade. If you look closely at it, you'll see it's plastered with a brisolite plaster. Brizolite was a very popular material at the time, which supplied buildings with specific texture and resistance. It is this rougher structure of plaster combined with the geometric shapes of the rondocubism that makes the house a cultural monument of the Czech Republic. It's a fascinating contrast between the strength of the brick core and the outer layer that plays with light and shadow depending on how the sun is shining.

When you perceive this house, try to imagine its internal layout, which is crucial for this type of construction. The house is divided into a residential area where the family lived, and two large workrooms, i.e. studios. For sculptor Julius Pelican, these studios were the heart of the house. Imagine the space there, full of dust of stone or clay, with the large windows through which daylight flowed in, necessary for precise shaping of statues. It is this duality of the house, divided into spaces for private life and spaces for public art, that gives the villa its depth. Julius Pelikán not only lived here, but here it formed its trail in the history of Czech sculpture.

However, the history of this house is not just a story of art and beauty. Every wall here carries traces of harder times. Let's move on to World War II. At that time the peace of New Street changed and this villa, which was created for creativity and freedom, was occupied by German officers. It is a frosty notion that spaces where discussions about art and sculptures were previously mentioned have suddenly become the seat of military power and strict discipline. This layer of history gives the house a certain charge and reminds us that even the most beautiful buildings are inseparably linked to the fate of people and to the history of the entire nation. The house thus served as a silent witness to the tragic events of the mid-twentieth century before it could return to its original character.

Perhaps you are now wondering why this house is so important today. The answer is that it is one of the relatively few preserved examples of its time and style in Olomouc. Rondocubism was not a mass style, it was rather a select expression of a group of architects and artists. The fact that this house survived wars, changes in regimes and the gradual development of the city makes it a real treasure. It's like an open book about how people in the year nine hundred twenty-five imagined modern housing and how they wanted to combine function with aesthetics.

If you look again at the villa as a whole, try to find harmony in it. Notice how a single-storey building is inserted into the surroundings, how the brisolite plaster is aging and how it still radiates the spirit of its time. It's where time stops, but it still tells us its story. It is a story about the ambition of architect Josef Štěpánek, about the creativity of sculptor Julius Pelikan and about the fate he dealt with during the dark years of occupation.

Thank you for stopping by this special house with me. I hope you were able to come to light with his architecture and that you were interested in the story of the people who were connected to this place. Now I encourage you to look at the villa again, this time at your own pace. Walk around her, perceive her texture, and perhaps imagine what the interior equipment of the studios would have looked like when Pelican made his works.

Now you can continue to discover the beauty of Olomouc. The new street has many other secrets and interesting places to find out. I wish you a pleasant walk and many new stimuli. Goodbye.