Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Müllerova vila (Müller Haus)
Nad hradním vodojemem 14, Střešovice • Guided tours (seven people only per tour) Tues, Thurs, Sat & Sun:
April-Oct 9am, 11am, 1pm, 3pm & 5pm; Nov-March 10am, noon, 2pm & 4pm • 300Kč, plus 150Kč extra
for an English guide • 224 312 012,
mullerovavila.cz
• Tram #1 or #18 from metro Malostranská to the
Ořechovka stop
Praguehasthousandsofinterwarvillasbutthemostfamousmustbethe
Müllerovavila
,also
knownastheLoosovavila,southwestofDejvice.DesignedfortheincrediblywealthyMüller
family by the Brno-born architect,
Adolf Loos
- regarded by many as one of the founders
of modern architecture - and Karel Lhota, and completed in 1930 (after planning permission
had been refused ten times), it was one of Loos' few commissions, a typically uncomprom-
ising box, finished in blank-smooth concrete rendering, its window frames strangely picked
out in yellow. It's really nothing to look at from the outside - Loos believed that “a building
should be dumb on the outside and reveal its wealth only on the inside” - but if you've any
interest in modernist architecture then a trip out here is an absolute must. To visit, it's a good
idea to call ahead as only seven people can join each
guided tour
.
Loos's most famous architectural concept was the
Raumplan
, or open-plan design, at its
most apparent in the living room, which is overlooked by the dining room on the mezzanine
level and, even higher up, by the boudoir, itself a
Raumplan
in miniature. The house is dec-
orated throughout in the rich materials and minimal furnishings that were Loos's hallmark:
greenandwhiteCipolinomarblecolumns,withaninsetaquariuminthelivingroomandma-
hogany panelling for the dining room ceiling. The “American kitchen” was state of the art in
the 1930s, as was the use of lino for the floor and walls of the children's room, and there are
two lifts in the centre of the house - one for people, one for food. Other highlights include
thehis'n'hersdressingroomsoffthemasterbedroomandtheJapanese-stylesummerdining
room, which opens out onto the roof terrace overlooking Prague Castle.
Šárka
Tram #20 or #26 from metro Dejvická to the last stop (“Divoká Šárka”)
If you've had your fill of tourists, touts and ticket takers, hop aboard a tram and walk north
down into
Šárka valley
, a peaceful limestone gorge that twists eastwards back towards De-
jvice. The first section (Divoká Šárka) is particularly dramatic, with grey-white crags rising
up on both sides - it was here that
Šárka
plunged to her death. Gradually the valley opens
up, with a grassy meadow to picnic on, and an
open-air swimming pool
nearby, both fairly
popular with Czechs on summer weekends. There are various points further east from which
you can pick up a city bus back into town, depending on how far you want to walk. The full
walk to where the Šárka stream flows into the Vltava, just north of Baba, is about 6-7km all
told, though none of it is particularly tough going.
