Obnova zahrady Rothmayerovy vily

Zprávy památkové péče 2013, 73(4):359-361

Renovation of the Rothmayer Villa garden

Ladislav Zikmund-Lender

This article briefly assesses the renovation of the villa and mainly of the garden from the architect and designer Otto Rothmayer (1892-1964). The idea of a substantive, even mystical connection between the very architecture of the villa with its immediate surroundings, was incorporated as an eminently intimate environment with a number of artistic elements from various historical (primarily folk) structures such as millstones, stone troughs, etc.
The garden and villa were designed as a follow-up of the previous realization of the summer house of Otakar Hátlý in Káraný in the district of Prague-East. The villa's own garden in the newly built villa neighbourhood of Prague-Střešovice was realized after the completion of the villa in 1929; it experienced its highest form during the 1950's, when it was documented by Josef Sudek and Rothmayer's son Jan. It has recently undergone an extensive and rigorous renovation in which all elements were carefully inventoried and deposited, and the trees and shurbs were pruned with the objective of evoking the original atmosphere from this very period.