Austrian art historian Daniela Hammer-Tugendhat dies at 79

Austrian art historian Daniela Hammer-Tugendhat, the youngest daughter of Fritz and Greta Tugendhat, builders of the world-famous villa in Brno’s Černá Pole district, has died at the age of 79. The news was confirmed on Wednesday by Iveta Černá, director of Villa Tugendhat.

Born in August 1946 in Caracas, Venezuela, where her parents had fled from the Nazi regime, Daniela Hammer-Tugendhat studied art history and classical archaeology at the universities of Bern and Vienna. In 1969 she accompanied her mother Greta to Brno, where she saw the family’s former villa for the first time. Together with her husband, Ivo Hammer-Tugendhat, she became a key spokesperson for the Tugendhat family in matters concerning the villa’s preservation and future use. She also played an active role in its restoration. In 2015, she received the City of Brno Award.