Winternitzova vila Site of events

Welcome to Smíchov. You are standing in front of this extraordinary historical monument, which is the famous Winternitzova vila. Take off your everyday worries for a while and let the story of a place that carries traces of joy, pain and rebirth. Look before you at the exterior facade in the color of the ivory bone that brought this house the lovely nickname of the beige princess. Feel the clean lines and thought-out elegance of the functionalist structure that stands before you in its three-story beauty.

Let's move forward in time and see how this house actually came into being. The year was nineteen hundred thirty-one when the foundation stone was laid to build a new home. It was all for Josef Winternitz's lawyer and his family, specifically for him, his wife Jenny and their children. The design came from the pen of the famous architect Adolf Loos and his associate Karl Lhota. A year later, in nineteen hundred thirty-two, the construction was completed and the family could move in. Unfortunately, the peaceful period didn't last forever. In nineteen hundred forty-one, the villa was violently confiscated by the family, and the fate of its inhabitants changed forever.

Now pay attention to the architecture itself. As you stand in front of the building, pay attention to the overall outside sound. Adolf Loos has applied its famous and famous interior layout, which bears the name "raumplan" in professional circles. This concept is that individual rooms do not have the same height of ceiling, but each part of the house is designed with respect to its specific purpose and meaning. This creates an unusual and very dynamic link between the inner space, which you can now not see in full beauty from the outside, but you can imagine it behind this bright facade.

If we look closely at the human destinies associated with this place, we have specific names. Josef Winternitz and Jenny Winternitzová have lived their hopeful years here. The descendants of the original owners who carry the legacy of this family further include Suzanna Cysařová and Petr Winternitz. Their family story was deeply marked by the history of the twentieth century. After the tragic events of World War II, the building served a different purpose for decades. Since nineteen hundred forty-three the house was housed by a kindergarten, which saved the building from total destruction, even though it gave her a new, somewhat different face. The operation of this kindergarten was not completed until nineteen hundred and ninety-five.

Now let's stop at one of the most interesting chapters in modern history. In nineteen hundred ninety-seven, the villa was ceremoniously returned to the descendants of the original owners as part of the restitution proceedings. It opened the way to save her. Subsequently, the building underwent an extensive and demanding historical reconstruction, which lasted three years under the close guidance of the experienced architects Zdeněk Lukeš and Karl Ksandr. This reconstruction was successfully completed in the year two thousand and two and returned the villa its original architectural shine.

In conclusion, I'd like to invite you to further explore. When you have the chance, come inside and let the atmosphere breathe upon you the space that has passed through such a moving history. Thank you for your attention, I bid you farewell and wish you a wonderful experience in discovering further corners of our history.