August Lassmann Villa

Two villas situated near the historic centre, at the corner of Tyršova and Rooseveltova streets, represent the most striking example of 1930s villa construction for the upper social classes. The houses illustrate how leading Opava architect Otto Reichner conceived a romanticized reflection of contemporary modern architecture.
In the early 1930s, the Lassmann family ranked among Opava’s leading entrepreneurial families. August Lassmann (1857–⁠1921) had moved to the city in the 1880s and lived with his family in a house on Horní náměstí (Upper Square) 38, where he ran an ironmongery. As his enterprise prospered, he was able to send both of his sons to study law, though in the end both continued the family’s commercial tradition. The elder son, August Lassmann (1897–⁠1972), had his villa built directly on the corner plot (Tyršova Street 1863/26), while his younger brother, Erich Lassmann (1900–?), built his villa next door at Rooseveltova Street 1864/37.
The architect of both houses, Otto Reichner, had made a strong name for himself in Opava in the early 1930s with his design for the municipal pool complex near the city park. It is therefore hardly surprising that the art-loving August Lassmann commissioned him to design a pair of villas on a plot within easy reach of the town centre. The elder Lassmann, a man of artistic interests, wrote articles on theatre and music for the German newspaper Deutsche Post, supported the local German cultural scene, and was a close friend of Edmund Wilhelm Braun, art historian and director of the Silesian Provincial Museum in Opava. Braun lived in a neighbouring villa, allowing regular visits, discussions on art, and assistance in building Lassmann’s collection of books and artworks. Financially secure, Lassmann devoted himself fully to these pursuits. Accordingly, the architecture of his villa received particular attention, with its modern form complemented in the interior by historically styled furniture and art collections, reflecting an interest in both contemporary architecture and tradition.
The villa at Tyršova Street 1863/26 consists of three stepped cuboid volumes: the tallest, a three-storey block on the north; a central, slightly wider two-storey section; and a single-storey southern wing. All are flat-roofed, with terraces created on the lower two sections – originally intended to be roof gardens. The central block projects slightly as two shallow risalits beyond the plane of the flanking sections. Reichner drew on the English villa tradition with a central hall, from which the main staircase leads to the first floor. On the ground floor, the hall was connected to a study, with glazed sliding doors allowing the two spaces to be joined. The same applied to the adjoining ground-floor section containing the conservatory. The first floor accommodated bedrooms and private rooms, from which a terrace above the ground-floor section was accessible. The second floor contained additional
rooms, including service areas and storage. In the basement there was a caretaker’s flat, a laundry room, a wine cellar, and a boiler room.
August’s villa was connected to the neighbouring Erich’s villa by a shared fence, built of quarry stone and articulated into panels framed in concrete and filled with wire mesh. The combination of traditional quarry stone with concrete framing and metal infill reflects the specific character of these houses, poised between tradition (especially in the interiors) and modern architecture. In the articulation of the façades, Reichner repeated slightly rectangular double casement windows, set in stucco frames, alternating them with traditional rectangular windows, single casements, the broad windows of the living room, and a circular window above the main entrance. At the same time, he combined symmetry with asymmetrical sections, thereby shaping the frontages of both villas. This design vocabulary was further echoed in the rectangular concrete frames of the terrace railings and the fencing. In the interior, the interplay of tradition and modern principles is evidenced in the staircase, with railings featuring decorative infill motifs, as well as organically modelled stair flights and other details.
The tension between the exterior and interior of the villas reflects the tension in the lives of the two Lassmann brothers themselves. The art-loving August was interested not only in theatre and music but also collected fine art, displaying in the rooms of his house a collection of porcelain, paintings, prints and sculptures ranging from the Gothic and Baroque periods to the 19th century. After the rise of Nazism, he, like museum director Braun, became a member of the NSDAP, supported various nationalist associations, and at the same time remained loyal to Opava.
After 1945, the Lassmann family was expelled to West Germany, where August Lassmann continued his cultural activities. His villa in Opava was used by the State Security, later housed a station of the Public Security service, and today is owned by the Police of the Czech Republic. From the outside, the building’s administrative use is barely visible, as the façades were repaired under heritage supervision and the original window and door frames were preserved. By contrast, the present appearance of the interiors bears no trace of the house once inhabited by an art lover. The dilapidated state of the original fencing and the neglect of the garden likewise speak of the loss of the villa’s original character.

MSt