Jaroslav Volenec

Jaroslav Volenec graduated from grammar school in Čáslav and completed his studies at the Czech Technical University in Prague in 1902. While still a student, he joined the Association of Engineering Students, serving as its chair in 1901–⁠1902.
He was a strong advocate for building a new campus for the Czech Technical University in Prague. Early in his career, he served on the river-regulation committee and gained experience with several construction firms, including the bridgeworks of the Prague company Fanta & Jiresch. In 1904, he joined Bernard & Kress, specialists in water and sewer systems, where he designed a water supply for the then-independent town of Košíře near Prague and prepared a comprehensive plan for regulating the Jizera River. In November 1907, Volenec was appointed engineer to the building office of Polská Ostrava (now Slezská Ostrava). There he helped lay the foundations of what would become a mining town, overseeing the reconstruction, expansion, and modernization of the water supply, the construction of a new water tower on Hladnov, the building of a sewer network, and the design of a school and other public buildings. Between 1910 and 1913, he was involved in the design and construction of the Polská Ostrava town hall in Zámostí (now part of Slezská Ostrava).
Beyond his engineering work, Volenec was active in community life. He served on the committee of Matice osvěty lidové (People’s Enlightenment Foundation), contributed to school building projects in Vrbice, Rychvald and Orlová, and performed as an amateur actor with the Kolár theatre society. He also founded Občanská beseda (Civic Association) in Slezská Ostrava and established the region’s first photography club. After the First World War, he took part in the plebiscite campaign in the Těšínsko region. In 1920, he was appointed head of the Provincial Building Authority in Opava, focusing on the road network and the regulation of Silesian rivers.
Volenec retired in 1928, and the following year built a villa for himself on Kylešovský Hill at Gudrichova Street 5/1698, a design that reflected the transition from modernism to emerging functionalism. In the late 1930s, he moved to Prague but remained engaged in public life, continuing to work on behalf of Silesia.

MSt