To celebrate the centenary of the founding of the republic, Čapek's villa in Prague will be opened

Prague - The villa of writer Karel Čapek in Prague's Vinohrady will briefly open to the public today to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia. Some rooms contain built-in furniture, while the building is otherwise almost empty as Prague 10 prepares for its complete renovation. The town hall is currently preparing a project in collaboration with conservationists and other institutions. The building could be presented in its new form by 2021 at the latest, according to Deputy Mayor Tomáš Pek (TOP 09).

For the first time, people can tour the building where the first Czechoslovak president Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, Ferdinand Peroutka, and other personalities of the First Republic gathered today between 6:00 PM and 8:00 PM. If there is public interest, Prague 10 town hall will prepare additional tours for this summer.

"We are showing the property, which is completely cleared and ready for restoration. Documents and furniture are stored in deposits or undergoing cleaning, conservation, and restoration. We will also show visitors the built-in furniture in the attic, where there were meeting rooms for the so-called ‘Friday Group,’ Čapek's bedroom and study. We will also bring a few pieces of furniture for the opening of the villa," Pek said. Although the renovation has not yet begun, according to the deputy mayor, visitors might find it appealing to compare the interior of the villa now and in the future after the renovation is completed. "A short video will be screened in the villa showing what it looked like when we bought the villa, along with about 50 photographs that document its historical condition," Pek added.

Some archival materials are in deposits, while other valuables are part of exhibitions. A total of twelve works and artifacts have been loaned for an exhibition in Japan, with more for exhibitions at the Central Bohemian Gallery or the National Gallery. For example, a plaster post-mortem mask, taken an hour after the writer's death, was found in the villa. During the investigation of the villa, experts also discovered a fan that Čapek's wife, Olga Scheinpflugová, had at his funeral. Among the treasures found in the villa are notebooks with sketches from the writer's travels, photographs from his youth, and an unknown drawing by Karel's brother Josef from his imprisonment in a concentration camp.

After the renovations are completed, the villa is set to open to the public. However, the interiors are not meant to become a museum. "We really want to preserve the ‘genius loci,’ to have the apartment respectfully arranged, so that visitors feel as if Karel Čapek just stepped out for a moment," Pek stated. According to him, the town hall wants to return the villa to its state around 1935. The working group for the project is trying to determine what the decoration was like in the building, where the original doors were, or what the bathroom and kitchen were like. Thanks to the promise to preserve the spirit of the place, Olga Scheinpflugová's heirs chose the town hall's offer during the sale, despite it being lower than other offers.

The Čapek brothers had the duplex built between 1923 and 1924 according to the design by architect Ladislav Machoň. After their deaths, the house was inherited by relatives. The writer's half was purchased by the town hall two years ago. Prague 10 paid 28 million crowns for the property and 15.9 million for the inventory. The other half of the duplex belongs to the descendants of Josef Čapek.