Basic information
The Hofmans’ fairytale villa was shaped by playful Art Nouveau. Its origin also has a fairytale touch. The house for the daughter of the Olomouc architect Karel Starý Sr. was designed by her brother Karel Starý Jr.
Both children inherited artistic talents from their father, Ludmila herself was a good painter. Their shared taste is evident in the design of the house, part of which is an art studio with large windows.
When Ludmila married Antonín Hofman, a Bank Director, in 1911, they longed for a formal house. Ludmila’s younger sibling was a natural choice. The talented Karel had studied under the renowned architect Jan Kotera and worked at his father’s architectural practice. From his studies, he brought a feeling for “a soft, lyrical concept with jewel-like details, characteristic of the late Prague Art Nouveau”.
The prism-shaped villa with an attic half-floor, a typical style of the Office District, has an impressive appearance. The imaginative architect made it special with two elliptic bay windows adding a touch of the friendliness of Baroque summer palaces. The forefront is completed by a fountain, a semicircular half-hip and a rich stucco décor; the side facade is softened by a bay window. Oval medallions and other elements give the building a jewellike quality. The house has remained beautiful despite a purist extension added in 1929.