Leoš Janáček and Gregor Mendel are two of Brno’s most famous names, ensuring the city’s place in cultural and scientific history. A forthcoming property exchange between the City of Brno and the Bishopric of Brno will involve two historic places connected with these figures, and allow for the creation of a Leoš Janáček museum.
While the church will acquire the school in Jánská, where Mendel once taught, the municipality will acquire Chleborád villa, which houses the former organ school where Janáček was the director, including the garden house in which he lived. Negotiations on the exchange have been going on for 30 years, and it was finally approved by city councillors yesterday.
“Some may be surprised by this information, but only Villa Tugendhat is included in Brno’s UNESCO list,” said the Mayor of Brno, Markéta Vaňková. “But there is also a second unique item in the city: the archive of Leoš Janáček. It is stored in Chleborád villa on the corner of Smetanova and Kounicova, belonging to the church, where it is cared for by the experts of the Moravian Regional Museum. Thanks to ownership by the city, the property will gain a new perspective and the Leoš Janáček Museum can be created here.”
In return, the city will provide the Bishopric of Brno with the former school building at Jánská 22, for which it has no suitable use. The diocese would like to return the school to its former use as a church school.
“Both properties received expert valuations,” added Jiří Oliva, city councillor for property. “The market value of the land with the Jánská 22 building was set at approximately CZK 120 million and the land with the Chleborád villa at approximately CZK 68 million. The bishopric would pay the price difference of around CZK 53 million to the City of Brno. If the above exchange is fulfilled, it will be a very significant undertaking for the further appeal of Brno as the city of Leoš Janáček.”
The city assembly will discuss the change at its next meeting on 12 November. This will complete the process that has been going on since 1994, when the city became interested in acquiring Chleborád villa.
The Neo-Renaissance villa from the end of the 19th century was transformed into an organ school a few years after its completion. From 1906, Leoš Janáček worked there as director. From 1910 until the end of his life, he also lived and composed in a house built in the garden of the school. It still houses his study, equipped with authentic furniture, including the piano on which he played.
