Villa Arnold and its connection to the world-famous Tugendhat and Löw-Beer villas
The newly-restored Villa Arnold in the Brno district of Černá Pole offers visitors a unique blend of architecture, history and art. In the close vicinity of the world-famous Tugendhat and Löw-Beer villas, the Villa Arnold by architect Josef Arnold from 1862 has been beautifully restored thanks to the Brno City Museum.
The history of Villa Arnold dates back to 1862, when architect Josef Arnold and his wife Katharina bought a narrow, long plot of land in Brno's Černé Pole district. That same year a building permit was issued for the construction of a suburban house according to Arnold's own plans. The construction proceeded so quickly that the house was finished by the summer of 1862. However, the Arnolds only it as a holiday residence and eventually put it on the market.
Villa Arnold changed hands several times. The most significant changes were made by the last private owners, Cecilia Hože and Cornelius Hože. Veronika Smyslová, who administers the property, explains
“It was the Hože family who put the building on Brno’s architectural map. They bought it in 1909, and Cecilia had the villa remodeled, extended and decorated in the style of Art Deco. These changes are reflected in the door and window panels and frames, the stucco decorations on the ceilings and the ornate cast-iron radiators. Even the winter garden that she ordered was in this style and all of these elements have been preserved.”
Equally fascinating is the family history of the villa’s inhabitants. The Villa Arnold is historically linked to two other famous buildings in the neighbourhood –the famous Villa Tugendhat and the Villa Löw-Beer. Cecilia Hože was the older sister of Alfed Löw-Beer. Perhaps thanks to her, this wealthy factory owner learned about an interesting property on sale above Lužánky, which later became known as the Villa Löw-Beer. Alfred Löw-Beer's daughter Greta received the upper part of the land as a wedding gift. She and her husband Fritz Tugendhat then built the exclusive functionalist Villa Tugendhat on it between 1929 and 1930. Due to the close family ties, the gardens of the three villas were linked and work is currently underway to reconnect them.
During World War II, Jewish property was confiscated by the Nazis and the inhabitants of these three villas were forced to leave their homes. After the war, the Villa Arnold fell to the state and served the State Forests enterprise. Later, between 1951 and 2012, it housed a kindergarten. However, little was done in terms of maintenance and the building gradually fell into disrepair. In 2012 it had to be closed and was at risk of demolition due to its damaged structure. Luckily, this never came about. The villa was placed under the administration of the Brno City Museum and, with the help of Norwegian funds, an extensive reconstruction was launched in 2021.
In the spring of 2024, the renovated Villa Arnold reopened to the public and has become a popular cultural centre. Veronika Smyslová says life has returned to the building.
“In addition to a permanent exhibition it serves as a meeting space for various associations. It is a venue for musical evenings and it is also home to the Centre for Dialogue, whose main program focuses on Czech-German-Jewish dialogue. There is also a café called Café Cecilia, in honour of Cecilia Hože, who made the villa what it is.”
The villa is open to visitors every day except Mondays from 10 am to 6 pm.
