Heritage conservationists have temporarily opened the Stiassny villa in Brno

Brno - Architecture lovers can admire the Stiassny Villa, which belongs to the Brno functionalist gems, starting today. This unique interwar building, which has been used for years as a government villa, was recently taken over from the state by the National Heritage Institute. The building, designed by the famous architect Arnošt Wiesner, can be visited by interested parties until the end of next week. The tours are exceptional. Permanent access to the building is not planned, said Petr Kroupa, the director of Brno’s heritage conservationists, to ČTK today.
    The government villa has been unused in recent years. The building needs restoration estimated at around ten million crowns. Heritage conservators hope to acquire funding from European grants. It will serve for exhibitions and also as a representative venue for the South Moravian Region or Brno.
    In addition to renting the villa for commercial events, there are plans to establish a center dedicated to 20th-century architecture in one of the buildings. It will serve not only students but also restorers and architects restoring buildings from the last century.
    The restoration of these buildings requires entirely different methods than restoring classical historical residences. There is currently no similar center in the Czech Republic. The center will include a library from Professor Vladimír Šlapeta of the Faculty of Architecture at the Brno University of Technology, consisting of 6000 volumes on modern architecture.
    The Stiassny Villa is among the exceptional buildings in Brno, along with the Tugendhat Villa and Jurkovič's Villa. According to experts, the architectural appearance of this building, its interior layout, and the materials used, along with the modification of the entire surroundings, creates a unique whole.
    Textile industrialist Alfred Stiassny commissioned the villa in 1927. The building is situated on land where 15 houses were intended to be built. It is set in a vast park that creates the impression of being located not in the city but in deep forests. The interior of the building is classical in style, while the exterior is a clear example of functionalism.
    The state acquired the villa after World War II. Fidel Castro stayed in it during his visit to Czechoslovakia in 1972. The state currently had no use for the building, so it handed it over to the heritage conservators.