The villa of the builder Josef Arnold on Drobného street 26 was the second structure built as part of the oldest Brno villa colony nad Lužánkami. It was additionally the first structure from a trio of villas situated on the depth of the long plots of land between the streets Drobného and Černopolní. The importance of the Arnold Villa consists primarily of its connections with urban planning. The date of its creation (1862) represents the initial structure on the slopes of Černá Pole. Additionally, the level of architecture in the spirit of Art Deco with elements of the Art Nouveau and high quality craftsmanship work as part of the second construction phase (approximately 1909-1915) is of extremely high quality. The practically completely preserved state of the building is remarkable for the present day.
Various cultural-historical aspects are of interest here, amongst other things. The commissioner and first owner of the villa was one of the leading creators of Brno architecture of the 19th century, the builder Josef Arnold. The last owner of the Villa was Cecílie Hože, maiden name Löw-Beer, who came from the family of the renowned Brno industrialists. She was the sister of Alfred Löw-Beer, the father of Grete Tugendhat, and thus her aunt. Members of the Löw-Beer and Tugendhat families owned and inhabited a number of properties in the environs starting from the beginning of the 20th century (on the streets Drobného, Černopolní, Antonína Slavíka) and thereby contributed to a significant extent to the ‘cultivation’ of this part of the city.
A nursery school, the history of which ranks among the oldest in Brno, has been housed in the former Arnold Villa since the year 1952. In retrospect it can be stated that this use of the Villa and its immediate surroundings including nearby Lužánky, was a fortunate choice, fitting in additionally with the character of the neighbouring residential district. Extensive land has always belonged and still belongs to the building. The garden which the former Arnold Villa is ‘hid’ in has the character of a forest park with fruit trees in the upper part at Černopolní street. It has been adapted for the needs of the nursery school with the building and the garden thus making up an extremely pleasant and cultivated locale, as well as, first and foremost, a healthy environment for small children in close proximity to the city centre.
Arnold’s villa was declared a cultural monument in 2010 and included in a list of the most endangered real estate monuments in Czech Republic in 2012. The kindergatrten operated there until 2012, currently (2020) is the villa managed by Museum of city Brno and is waiting for its renovation with the financial support of Norwegian funds.
The article can be downloaded on the Czech version of our web pages.
Dagmar Černoušková, The Arnold Villa above Lužánky Park. On the First Villa Colony in Brno. In: Jana Čermáková, Radana Červená, Hana Jordánková, Irena Loskotová, Jitka Šibíčková (eds.), AND IN GENERAL… The Classified Collection for Milena Flodrová on her 75th Birthday, Brno: the Statutory City of Brno and Brno City Archive 2010, pp. 394-427 and 574-575
