which has been under the administration of the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic since 1975 and which is the only residence of the Prime Minister situated outside Prague
has recently undergone a large reconstruction
In cooperation with the Hussite Museum in Tábor
it was reconstructed in order to gain the original form of the years when Hana and Edvard Beneš lived there
the villa has been visited by more than 11 000 visitors
Visitors can see the exterior of the villa
the façade of which was restored in keeping with the original colours
Visitors can look forward to the President’s favourite recess situated in the ground floor hall
The interior is furnished with antiques and period furniture
which was obtained by Hana and Edvard Beneš
More information can be found on the websites /en/urad-vlady/dalsi-objekty/summer-home-in-sezimovo-usti-55748/
The next Bohemka’s appearance happened closer to home
Bohemka participated in the indoor football tournament that took place in the sport centre of Slavia Praha in Vršovice
Bohemka ended fifth overall among six participants
Bohemka first defeated in its group the second division Ústí nad Labem 4:3 before losing to the first division selects 2:6
A few more players were introduced during the tournament - midfielders Vágner from Jablonec
Players took the participation in the tournament seriously
as evidenced by the red card received by Bohamka’s Tomáš Kuchař while sitting on the bench
It was supposedly for something unflattering he said about the referee’s appearance or ancestry
The last game this year was played in Kladno
Bohemka faced the fourth division Kladno B
The match was played on artificial turf in weather better suited for dog sled racing than football
It was miserably cold and windy during the game and a blizzard did not help either
One of the Kladno goals that Zahálka let in was directly from the corner kick
Players will now relax a bit before starting preparation for the spring season
Bohemka will again take part in the winter tournament called Tipsport Cup
Bohemka will face in the group teams Viktoria Žižkov
All the games will be played on the artificial turf in Vršovice’s Eden sport complex
Media Centre
the original plan was to open this architectural gem to the public only over the weekend from 26 to 28 October as part of cost-cutting measures
the new management of the Government Office has decided to extend the public open days to include two weekends in September and another weekend in October
“While opening the Beneš villa to the public will obviously place extra pressure on organization and funds
I am convinced that this is money well spent and that we are duty-bound by Hana Benešová’s wishes that the villa be accessible to the public
All the more so when we consider that this year is the 65th anniversary of the death and that next year will be the 130th anniversary of the birth of the second president in the history of the independent Czechoslovak Republic,” says the director of the Government Office
An official commemoration ceremony is due to take place at the president’s grave
to be attended by Prime Minister Jiří Rusnok
on the anniversary of Dr Beneš’s death on 3 September
The villa was built in 1930 and 1931 according to a design by the architect Petr Kropáček and the Benešes were directly involved in the project
They wanted the house to have the air of a rural building in the south of France
the Benešes decided to extend the villa according to a design by the architect Otokar Fierlinger
The final resting place of the second Czechoslovak president and his wife – a tomb in the garden – was designed by Pavel Janák
The president’s bust was created in 1947 by the sculptor Karel Dvořák
Beneš’s villa has undergone extensive renovation in recent years and was reopened to the public in May 2009
Visitors tour the exterior of the building and can look forward to president’s favourite corner in the ground-floor lounge
The interior is furnished with the antiques and period furniture brought here by the Benešes
The guided tour includes a walk in the nearby park
which is one of the country’s few surviving gardens from the 1930s
The tour comes to an end at the grave of the Benešes
Guided tours are organized in groups from 10 AM to 4 PM
a commemorative act will be held at the tomb of the Beneš family at Sezimovo Ústí to mark the 125th anniversary of the birth of Edvard Beneš
The memory of Edvard Beneš will be honoured by Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer together with former Premier Mirek Topolánek who deserves credit for the reconstruction and restoration of the villa of Hana and Edvard Beneš to its original garb
The house will now serve not only as a memorial but also as state rooms to be used by the Czech Government and its Premier for negotiations
Over the past three years the Beneš family villa has passed through a wide-ranging reconstruction project
which restored the house close to the face of the original project by architect Petr Kropáèek
who had built it in the years 1930 and 1931
the villa was turned into a government residence
the adaptations made at that time disrupted the original character of the house
“The premises have now been restored to their original garb
and my wish is to honour the heritage of the Beneš family
namely to return the object to the people – this may sound as a phrase but we really want to do all we can and we have done our best to open the villa to the public,“ former Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek was quoted as saying during the inauguration of the Beneš villa
The Beneš villa will be opened to the public from 10:00 a.m
each last weekend in the month from May to October this year
To respond to what has proved to be an enormous public interest
the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic has decided to open the villa to the public already on the day of the commemorative act on May 28
Speech of Jan Fischer on the occasion of the 125th anniversary of Edvard Beneš's birth">
Prime Minister Topolánek presents the rebuilt Beneš villa">
Hana and Edvard Beneš' summer home in Sezimovo Ústí">