České Budějovice will buy Kende's villa listed as a cultural monument

České Budějovice - České Budějovice will buy Kende's villa, listed as a cultural monument. The city will pay the owner 20 million crowns for it. The town hall is considering how to utilize the historical villa in the city center. One option is that there could be a museum remembering the Jewish residents of České Budějovice. This was stated by Deputy Mayor Tomáš Bouzek (Together for Budějovice) to ČTK.

"We do not have a clear decision yet on what the villa will be used for, but we want to preserve its historical appearance and use it meaningfully," Bouzek said. Before World War II, the villa belonged to a prominent Jewish family whose members ended up in concentration camps. "Ironically, after that, the Nazis established the headquarters of the security service Sicherheitspolizei SD there," said the deputy.

The villa is located on Otakarova Street and is part of an inner block that also includes the social house Beseda. The building is 103 years old; it was commissioned by the Kohn family, who later changed their surname to Kende. According to conservationists, the villa combines residential and representative functions. "The interior has been preserved. For me, the most important thing is that the villa will be accessible to the public. We will negotiate with Memory of the Nation, we will also reach out to the South Bohemian Museum, and of course we want everything to reflect in Budějovice's candidacy for the European Capital of Culture 2028," Bouzek said. Conservationists compare the quality of the workmanship or interior of the building to the Hardtmuth villa in České Budějovice, which belonged to the founder of the Koh-i-noor company.