2024-03-04 06:14:15
The Vinohrady home of Karel Čapek and the place where the famous Fridays gathered will be transformed into a museum similar to Villa Tugendhat. Prague 10 wants to complete the project by the summer, in which part of the Vinohrady semi-detached house from the pen of the architect Ladislav Machoná proposes to sensitively reconstruct and adapt the writer’s style of life during the First Republic.
“We would like to give future visitors the impression that they found themselves in the 1930s shortly after Karel Čapek saw off the Fridays,” says the mayor of the city district, Martin Valovič (ODS), regarding the goals of the reconstruction. It is said that the town hall does not want to turn the villa into a busy tourist attraction, it will regulate its operation in the same way as the Tugendhat villa in Brno does, for example. “It only allows small groups of visitors to enter,” he adds.
The Čapková brothers had their semi-detached house in Vinohrady built in 1923 and 1924 according to the design of the architect Ladislav Machoná. The tenth district is talking about reconstruction since half of the house was purchased in 2013. So far, it has had a construction-historical and restoration survey done and stored the original equipment together with Čapka’s extensive archive of documents.
The garden will also receive sensitive modifications, but it is also common to the other part of the building, where the descendants of brother Josef live. Its availability to visitors is therefore limited. Considering the period objects and the rich archive that have been preserved in the villa, according to the deputy mayor Tomáš Pek (TOP 09), considerations of creating another museum space with its own depository are appropriate. The town hall has already developed a study for such a project.
Karel Čapek was also a contributor to the magazine Přítomnost. | Photo: Jakub Plíhal
It should be ready in the middle of the year. Before the start of the work, an educational program will continue in the villa, which consists of thematic and drama lectures organized in cooperation with the Mana theater or tours as part of the Open house festival. The town hall also wants to compile a documentary film from the video footage of the museum’s preparations and is considering creating a 3D model of the villa.
Take a look inside the house of the famous Czech writer with us.