František Sternwald’s Villa

This villa in the largest residential area in Hradec Králové was built after the war and it is characterized by its conservative concept and themes typical for Mediterranean architecture. It can be considered as one of the last high-quality buildings in the city built before the general prohibition of construction in 1942, announced by the Protectorate authorities. The owner of this exceptional villa was geologist František Sternwald (1908–1985). Since the initial progressive project was changed, we can assume that its strictly geometrical aesthetics of functionalism was not very easy on the eye. The architect, who was born and worked in Hradec Králové, participated in several local competitions for school buildings.

He won, for example, the contract to build a campus for the nearby town of Předměřice nad Labem in the late 1930s. The architectural concept of the villa, which was initially supposed to have a flat roof, reflected the current architectural trends of the turn of the 1930s and 1940s when the dogma of white scientific functionalism was increasingly criticized and the avant-garde principles were not often accepted by owners, especially in the country. The first study was created in 1940, but the definitive version of the project included several changes; for example, the house had a new hipped roof separated by a distinct crown cornice. On the façade, the original lyrical figurative murals disappeared and so did the sundial on the side façade.

Other features of the building remained unchanged, namely the corner oriel windows in the indoor gardens carried by subtle brackets, intensifying the romantic atmosphere of the living rooms. Louženský also designed an interesting entrance to the garden. It was accessed through a terrace connected to the staircase hall. The hall had an unusual vault. The romantic atmosphere of the villa, resembling houses in the French or Spanish Riviera, was intensified by a number of other features. In addition to French windows with shutters, the architect also used wooden blinds and baroquizing ironwork on the terrace and balcony railings, and protected the private garden with a plastered wall with an arched opening. František Sternwald’s villa is now owned by his family, and it is still, even after more than sixty-five years, kept in good condition and in its original form.