New edition of USE-IT Brno map

The new edition of USE-IT Brno maps is here and it also includes the Löw-Beer Villa as a part of a section devoted to Jewish heritage. The map mentions a short history of the Villa and its connection to Villa Tugendhat, points out free entry to the garden.

USE-IT maps are non-commercial, made by young locals. They are always free and up-to-date. Nowadays, these maps provide information for young travellers in almost 40 European cities – and one of them is Brno.

Exhibition about the conversion of the Löw-Beer factory

From September 30 to November 1, 2020, the Celnice Gallery hosts an exhibition of works by students of the Faculty of Architecture at Brno University of Technology, which deal with the functional transformation of the former Löw-Beer textile factory in Brněnec. The Löw-Beer family owned this factory until 1938.

In the same year, most family members were forced to leave their homes before the Nazi threat, many of them unfortunately died in concentration camps. The grandson of the original owners, Daniel Löw-Beer, founded the Archa Endowment Fund in 2018, which provides grants and supports projects for the conversion of the factory in Brněnec.

The best of Brno on a single tourist card

Since this year, the Löw-Beer Villa in Brno is involved in the BRNOPAS tourist card project, which provides its owners a number of discounts or free admissions to interesting places in Brno and its surroundings. The card can be purchased from one to three days, for adults or children under 15 years of age, and may include a public transport ticket.

With the BRNOPAS card, you get a 25% discount in the Löw-Beer villa to enter the permanent exhibition The World of the Brno Bourgeoisie Around the Löw-Beers and the Tugendhats, children have free admission. The card also offers benefits in other famous Brno villas: Tugendhat, Stiassni and Jurkovič.

History of the Villa

The property at No. 22 Drobného Street (the former Sadová – Parkstrasse) consisted in the 19th century of two building plots with garden houses and two sites occupied by a vineyard and a garden.

In 1903 the property was bought by manufacturer Moriz Fuhrmann (1852-1910), who had a house built there. According to the community bulletin for the provincial capital of Brno, there were four flats situated in the two-storey house, comprising 14 rooms and 7 cabinets, 3 kitchens, 2 bathrooms and 6 toilets. The street and garden fronts are decorated with Art Nouveau vegetable stucco decorations and, in the lower part, with rustication strips. Similar decorations are used on the walls and ceilings indoors, including timber elements. Also ceramic floor tiles and the cast iron handrails of the staircase are decorated with Art Nouveau floral patterns. The author of the design was the Viennese architect Alexander Neumann (1861-1947).

After Fuhrmann's death, in August 1913 his heirs sold the house to the textile entrepreneur Alfred Löw-Beer (1872-1939) for 290 thousand crowns. The new owner had the house partially adapted in the 1930s (particularly the space of the central staircase hall). The adaptation was designed by the Viennese architect Rudolf Baumfeld (1903-1988).

In 1940 the house was confiscated by the Germans for the needs of the secret state police (Gestapo). In 1946 the building was put under national administration and in 1954 it was placed under the ownership of the Czechoslovak state. From 1954-2012 the villa was used as a hall of residence.

Now the Löw-Beer Villa is in the ownership of South Moravian Region and administered by the Museum of the Brno Region, contributory organization.