10 January 2006
A Jewish family has requested the restitution of a famous villa in the Czech Republic. The Tugendhat villa in Brno is a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the most important examples of 1930s functionalist architecture in the world, according to experts. The villa was commissioned by Greta and Fritz Tugendhat in 1928, but the family had to flee 10 years later as the Nazis prepared to invade the country. The Communist government later used the villa for various purposes, and after the fall of Communism in 1989 ended, it was turned into a museum. The Tugendhat descendants, led by Daniella Hammer-Tugendhat in Vienna, want the property back so it can be restored for public visits. The legal case may pose difficulties - a national deadline on restitution property requests has expired - though it may help the family's case that a request was filed by the family in a Brno district court after 1945. There was no response from the court back then.
