On Thursday, a survey will begin among citizens about the use of the Werich Villa

Prague - A survey among the citizens of Prague 1 about the use of Werich Villa in Kampa will begin on Thursday. At the same time, proposals from three companies that want to use it will be exhibited in the Gallery of Prague 1. The city district informed about this at today’s press conference. The leadership of Prague 1 wants to take into account the opinions of the citizens when deciding on the rental of the villa, which they can express in the survey until October 18. The Museum Kampa, Post Bellum, and Charta 77 are vying for the lease.
    "The exhibition will be a kind of preliminary step for us to invite citizens to make a decision," said the mayor of Prague 1, Oldřich Lomecký, today. The exhibition Future and Present of Prague 1 will take place in the gallery at the corner of Štěpánská Street. The results of the survey will be addressed by the new council of the city district that will emerge from the local elections.
    The leadership of the city district has unsuccessfully been trying to lease the monument for more than ten years. Most recently, the commission designated the Jan and Meda Mládek Foundation as the winner after the selection process. Post Bellum came in second, and Charta 77 came in third. However, the councilors could not agree on a tenant.
     The Museum Kampa wants to establish a permanent exhibition in the villa that would relate to Voskovec and Werich or the poet Vladimír Holan, who also lived in the villa. The museum representatives also want to organize temporary exhibitions, small festivals, or theater performances in the house.
     Post Bellum would like to create a place in the villa that focuses on exhibitions, education, or community activities; it should also include a center documenting totalitarian regimes of the 20th century and an archive of Werich, Voskovec, and Holan. Further plans include theater performances, discussions, or games.
     Charta 77 wanted to turn the villa into a place for intergenerational meetings with a library, gallery, theater hall, space for physical activities, and a small café. Representatives of Charta 77 have concluded a memorandum with the Mládek Foundation regarding potential mutual cooperation in managing the villa.
    The villa is located near the Liechtenstein Palace in Kampa. It dates back to the early 17th century and originally housed a tannery. Actor and playwright Jan Werich lived here with his family from 1945 until his death in 1980. The poet Vladimír Holan and the educator Josef Dobrovský also lived here.