Vila Lídy Baarové

The villa is not very visible, but there is an unusual view of Prague from here.

During the First Republic, such an elite of Czech culture lived in the Hanspaulka district of Prague as the comedian Vlasta Burian, the poet Jaroslav Seifert, the painter and graphic artist Cyril Bouda and the actress Lída Baarová. The houses were designed here by the best architects of their time. One of the local architectural attractions is the functionalist two-storey villa of Lída Baarová - it resembles an ocean liner with round windows on the north side and a rounded bow. The house with a rounded corner and a flat roof was designed between 1937 and 1938 by the architect Ladislav Žák. This architect also designed the villa of director Martin Frič, whom Lída Baarová once visited. She was so excited about his villa that Lída's parents, who financed the construction, also turned to the architect Žák. However, Baar moved here only briefly in 1944, when she returned from abroad. A year later, she was imprisoned for alleged collaboration, but in 1948 she was definitively acquitted and emigrated. The house is also connected with the tragic death of her sister Zorka Janů (née Babková). After the end of the war, she suffered from the problems of Lída, who was being investigated for collaboration at the time, but also because of the death of her mother, who suffered a stroke during a police interrogation in 1945 and died shortly afterwards. On March 24, 1946, she voluntarily ended her life by jumping out of a villa window. Baar's father also had to leave the villa in the early 1950s. Since then, the owners have changed here and made various adjustments to the villa. In 2005, it was acquired by a new owner, who had it reverently rebuilt in the original functionalist spirit according to the project of architect Ladislav Lábus. During the First Republic, such an elite of Czech culture lived in Hanspaulka, such as comedian Vlasta Burian, poet Jaroslav Seifert, painter and graphic artist Cyril Bouda, or Lída Baarová. The houses were designed by the best architects of their time. One of the local architectural attractions is the functionalist two-storey villa of famous actress Lida Baarová - it resembles an ocean liner with round windows on the north side and a rounded prow. The house with a rounded corner and a flat roof was designed in 1937 - 1938 by architect Ladislav Žák. This architect also designed the villa of director Martin Frič, which Lída Baarová once visited. She was so excited about his villa that Lida's parents, who financed the construction, also turned to architect Žák. Baarová, however, moved here only briefly in 1944, when she returned from abroad. A year later she was imprisoned for alleged collaboration, but in 1948 she was finally acquired and left for emigration. The house is also associated with the tragic death of her sister Zorka Janů. After the end of the war, she suffered from the problems of Lída, who was at that time being investigated for collaboration, but also for the death of a mother who suffered a stroke during a police interrogation in 1945 and died shortly thereafter. On 24 March 1946 she voluntarily ended her life by jumping out of the villa window. In the early 1950s, the villa had to be abandoned also by the of Baarová´s father. Since then, the owners have alternated here and made various adjustments to the villa. In 2005 it was acquired by a new owner, who had it reverently reconstructed in the original functionalist spirit according to a project by architect Ladislav Lábus.