95 years ago, architect, painter, and ethnographer Jan Koula passed away

Prague - Architect, painter, and ethnographer Jan Koula, who died 95 years ago on May 18, 1919, was a significant architect of historicist and folkloric style, as well as a respected expert and promoter of folk art, folk architecture, and the applied arts. In addition, Koula designed sgraffito, worked with ceramics, contributed to the revival of Czech cut and engraved glass, designed jewelry and furniture, and collaborated on the preservation of monuments.
    His most famous architectural works include the Svatopluka Čecha Bridge in Prague, his own family house in Prague - Bubenč, adorned with a number of folkloric motifs, the nearby Suchard villa, and the reconstruction of the Renaissance building of the Plzeň Town Hall. Koula's unrealized project for the outlet of the Čech Bridge with a breakthrough to Letná is also well-known.
    A native of Český Brod (February 7, 1855), he was also behind the establishment of the Ethnographic Museum within the Prague National Museum, where he was the curator of ethnographic and archaeological collections. He is the author of the two-volume monograph "Monuments of the Applied Arts in Bohemia." Koula also edited the magazine "Architectural Horizon" and was a co-founder of the Club for Old Prague. He excelled as a draftsman and watercolorist.