The Apartment of the Kraus Family
The interior
is a part of the
Guided tour 1
The Kraus´ and Vogl’s Apartments
(10 Bendova Street and 12 Klatovska Street)
One of the most beautiful Pilsen apartment interiors designed by Adolf Loos has been preserved on the first floor of an apartment building at 10 Bendova Street. The interior was created for the chemical engineer Vilém Kraus and his wife Gertrude between 1930-1931. The history of the apartment and its inhabitants is very sad and dramatic. Only Vilém Kraus survived the World War II and the persecution of the Nazi regime (his wife and two children were killed in a concentration camp). The apartment was subsequently seized by the totalitarian communist regime which forced Vilém Kraus to flee to exile in Great Britain again. During the communist era, the original apartment was divided into three smaller apartment units, a part of the original interior equipment was irreversibly destroyed at the time.
The most valuable part of the apartment is the exclusive salon connected with the dining room. The main motive which is used here is a mirroring effect, the mirror walls opposite each other create an interesting effect of an endlessly reflected space. Loos created a delicate combination of walls tiled with green marble Cipollino featuring streaks of white with wooden built-in furniture and a cassette ceiling, for both of which he used high-quality dark brown mahogany wood. We can find a characteristic fireplace made of grey bricks which is a typical feature of designs by Adolf Loos. Very valuable is also the almost completely preserved bedroom with furniture built into the perimeter walls of the room. This part of the apartment has been preserved including interesting and very practical design details - a dressing table, hat hooks in the wardrobes, drawers and other well-thought-out storage areas.
Today this apartment is a part of the property of the city of Pilsen. Between 2013 and 2014 it was reconstructed according to the design of architects Ludvík Grym and Jan Sapák. The preserved original equipment was carefully restored, missing furniture was not replaced by replicas but by elements of contemporary design so that it is obvious at first glance which parts are original and which are not. As a result, a variable space which is suitable for small-scale cultural events was created.
Wood
The mahogany wood was chosen as a ceiling cover material which was polished into its highest possible shine so that it reflected the area below. In this way the ceiling covers created an optical illusion of greater room height.
Mirrors
Loos´ favourite interior element was a feature of so-called enfilade. In case of the salon in the Kraus´ apartment he created a fascinating illusion of an infinitely multiplied picture of the room thanks to the mirrors which were placed on the opposing walls.
Marble
Stone was the most favourite material of Adolf Loos. In the living room of the Kraus´ apartment he used marble called Cipollino which was already very popular in the ancient times by the Romans. We can see this stone with its typical green-white combination in the Villa Müller in Prague too, or as a covering material of the shopping house Goldman& Salatsch in Vienna.
Other interiors
10 Bendova Street
The Apartment of Kraus Family
Accessible
Part of the Guided Tour 1
12 Klatovska Street
The Apartment of Doctor Vogl
Accessible
Part of the Guided Tour 1
58 Husova Street
The Brummel House
Accessible
Part of the Guided Tour 2
110 Klatovska Street
The Semler House
Temporarily closed
6 Placheho Street
Richard Hirsch's Apartment
The apartment is accessible
only occasionally.
19 Klatovska Street
Hugo Semler's Apartment
The apartment is accessible
only occasionally.
140 Klatovska Street
Leo Brummel's Apartment
The apartment is not accessible
for public.
22 Republic Square
Weiner's Apartment
The apartment is not accessible
for public.