Spaunova vila Villa

Spaunova vila in Rejštejn in Klatovsk is a representative Art Nouveau. The project was developed by the Vienna architect Leopold Bauer after 1903. The building has been protected as a cultural monument since 1958 and represents an important link between industrial business and progressive artistic sensations of the early 20th century.

The villa was established as a family residence for Maximilian von Spauna, the owner of one of the most important glass smelters in Austria-Hungary, which was located in the nearby Monastery Mill. A personal acquaintance of the owner with architect Leopold Bauer, who lived in Monasterské Mlýn in 1903, led to the construction. The design of the villa and its interior was conceived as a representative work. Part of the underground entrance hall was created by rebuilding an older building.

The construction features the style of Art Nouveau Classicism and combines elements of Vienna's geometrical Art Nouveau with links to traditional Šumava architecture. The floor plan of the building is approximately rectangular and the staircase divides it into a representative entrance hall and one-story living area. The south garden-oriented facade is complemented by a forward terrace and a distinctive rake shield with a five-part window in the attic. Architect Bauer incorporated elements of irisex glass into the plaster, which was the main product of Spaun Glass. Decorative details include oval fittings on the railings of terraces and geometric patterns of triangular tiles on the shields. The original red paint of the rafters was to refer to local folk architecture.

The interior was equipped in the spirit of the Vienna geometrical Art Nouveau. On the ground floor there was a bedroom with a bay and a bathroom covered with white and blue iris tiles. Similar glass tiles were also used to lining the fireplace in the lobby. In 1906, a coloured glass mosaic was set at the entrance by the painter and graphic artist Richard Teschner, which represents the fountain, peacock and butterfly.

Maxmilián von Spaun inhabited the villa until his death in 1909. It is buried in a cemetery in Rejštejn, where there is a tombstone designed also by Leopold Bauer. The foundry in Monasterské Mlýn, which was closely linked to the villa, ceased its activities in 1947. The original equipment of the residence has until today been preserved only in tiny remains and is known mainly from period photographs.

Currently, the villa is a private building and visitors can only admire it from the outside. The monument remains a valuable sign of close cooperation between the industrial entrepreneur and leading artists of the Vienna Art Nouveau in the early 20th century. For those interested in the history of glassmaking, it is a suitable addition to the exhibition visit in the Museum of Šumava in Kašerské Hory, where a collection of products of the Spaunov glassworks and part of the owner's library are stored.