10 Bendova Street

One of the most beautiful Pilsen apartment interiors designed by Adolf Loos was preserved on the second floor of the block of flats in 10 Bendova Street. The interior was created for the family of a chemist Vilem Kraus and his wife Gertruda in the period of 1930 – 1931. The history of the apartment and its inhabitants is very sad and dramatic. Only Vilem Kraus survived the World War II and Nazism regime, his wife and two children died in a concentration camp, the flat was later on confiscated by the communist regime and therefore Vilem Kraus decided to immigrate to Great Britain. During the period of socialism the original apartment was divided into three smaller flat units and a part of the apartment equipment was destroyed beyond repair. Today the apartment is owned by the City of Pilsen.

The most valuable part of the interior is a drawing room connected to a dining room. Mirror walls positioned opposite to each other create the effect of so-called infinite enfilade - a never-ending reflection of the picture. The main wall of the living room is decorated by a fire place. The walls of the whole room are covered by white-green marble; the ceiling is made of dark mahogany wooden plates. A very interesting part of the interior is the preserved bedroom with the in-built bedside table and many handy details within the in-built wardrobes, for example a hanger for hats, various systems of drawers and practical storage areas.

In 2014 the apartment was reconstructed based on the design of architects Ludvik Grym and Jan Sapak. The original furniture was not preserved and it was decided not to replace it by its exact replicas. Instead of them the architects decided for modern design pieces with appropriate characteristic features. The reconstruction resulted into an extraordinarily valuable space suitable for cultural purposes which is also a part of the Kraus´ and Vogl’s Apartments guided tour.