Brno to transfer Tugendhat villa to state to pave way for restitution

Councillors at city hall in Brno, Moravia, have agreed that the Modernist Tugendhat villa, designed by legendary architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, should be transferred to the state. The move is intended to facilitate the building's eventual return to the Tugendhat family, the site's original owners. The Tugendhats, who are Jewish, lost the villa when they fled Czechoslovakia in 1938 ahead of the arrival of the Nazis. Family members have said that the building, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site, will remain open to the public. It will have to undergo needed renovations.