Unique Prague Cubist villa on sale
The Kovařovic Villa in Prague, one of the finest examples of Czech Cubist architecture, is up for sale.
The three-story villa, located on the Rašín embankment just below Vyšehrad, was built in 1913 by Bedřich Kovařovic according to the plans of architect Josef Chochol. It was inspired by the classic Cubist works of Braque and Picasso and is today listed as a national protected heritage monument.
The sale of the villa, which is currently being rented as office space, is negotiated by the real estate company Colliers. However, the price of the villa has not been disclosed.
According to Kateřina Karmažinová, the villa was built as a representative residence and was first renovated in 1944. In the 1960’s it functioned as a kindergarten. The villa was last renovated in the 1990s, when it started serving as office space.
The property has an area of 957m² and also includes a garden with an area of 300m², which also bears elements of Cubism.
Czech architects were the first and only ones in the world to ever design original Cubist buildings. The style enjoyed its heyday between the years 1911 to 1914, when Prague became the second centre of European Cubist art, after Paris.
The author of the Kovařovic Villa, Josef Chochol, along with Josef Gočár and Pavel Janák, is considered to be one of the founding fathers of this unique architectural style.
According to the spokeswoman of the National Heritage Institute, Andrea Holasová, there are only 21 Prague monuments built in the Cubist style or bearing significant Cubist elements.
The most famous Cubist buildings in the Czech capital include the House of the Black Madonna, and Škoda Palace.
Mrs Holasová told the Czech News Agency that the institute has no plans to interfere in the sale of the building, as long as the new owner meets the requirements of the National Monuments Act.
Bedřich Kovařovic (1857-1940) studied civil engineering at the Czech Technical University in Prague. In addition to his family home, he also built an apartment house on the nearby street of Na Libušince in 1897.
