People visited the Arnold Villa in Brno, the association is striving for its restoration

Brno - Today, people in Brno had a special opportunity to tour the Art Nouveau Arnold Villa from 1862, which has been closed for five years. Since the 1950s, it housed a kindergarten, which closed due to poor structural and hygienic conditions. It made the list of the most endangered cultural monuments in the Czech Republic, and last year the association Cultural Center of Josef Arnold was formed, which aims for its restoration, said Marek Ciprian, one of the founding members of the association, to ČTK.

The villa is situated in the oldest villa district of Brno in Černá Pole near Lužánky Park. The Arnold couple owned it for 21 years before selling it, and ownership has changed hands several times since then. It now belongs to Brno and is managed by the Brno-North administrative district. "The leadership of the district is very open to our initiative. Our goal is to gradually restore the garden, which is simpler, and the main aim is, of course, the complete restoration of the villa," Ciprian said.

A structural assessment was carried out after the kindergarten closed, and since then the condition has been preserved. "The trusses and roofs have been repaired. The assessment will be updated, but it still needs to be approved by the district council and the municipality," noted Ciprian.

The core of the association consists of guides from the Tugendhat Villa. They also participate every Monday, with five to seven people, in the revitalization of the garden, which had overgrown with tree saplings and bushes. The restoration of the villa now needs to be prepared with experts in heritage conservation, with costs estimated at several tens of millions of crowns. A promising contribution from Norwegian funds is in sight. For current activities, the association would receive a donation from the English association The Friends of Czech Heritage, which helps the most endangered monuments in Brno and with which they have established contact.

Before the villa is repaired, the association wants to open it more to the public. However, they are considering doing this more next year, planning tours similar to today’s and more themed events. In the future, there are plans for the villa to serve as a community center for Černá Pole and Brno-Central, and there should also be a place focused on contemporary architecture and art in Brno, particularly concerning the last quarter of the 19th century, when the city was rapidly developing architecturally. The association would also like to become involved in the collaboration of four Brno villas that have already undergone renovations and attract tourists. Moreover, they are located just a few dozen meters from the Tugendhat Villa and the Löw-Beer Villa.