Libodřice: Cubist Architecture and History

Architecture, Archaeology and Local History

Libodřice brings together a range of cultural and historical themes: Cubist architecture, an archaeological reserve and several historic buildings. They differ in both period and form. The Bauer Villa combines a 20th-century work with an exhibition; the Libodřický barrow field comprises burial mounds, while the château and religious buildings point to other building periods. These themes allow you to choose the focus of your stay: architecture, archaeology or local history.

The Bauer Villa

The Bauer Villa was built between 1912 and 1914 to a design by the architect Josef Gočár. It is a unique and stylistically distinctive example of Cubist architecture. Inside, you can see an exhibition of Cubist furniture and applied arts. The subject thus extends from the design of the building to the objects on display. The villa reopened in July 2025. If you are planning a visit, check the current visitor information and exhibition programme beforehand.

The Libodřický Barrow Field

The Libodřický barrow field offers a different focus: this archaeological heritage reserve comprises about 25 burial mounds with stone cores and surrounding stone rings. The approximate number gives an idea of the scale of the group; the stone cores and rings provide specific details about how the individual graves were built. Unlike the villa, a single work of architecture, the focus here is on several burial mounds and their stone construction. The site’s protected status and the form of the graves offer two different points of reference for understanding the place.

The Château and the Former Fortress

The château in Libodřice was converted from a former fortress in 1750. The former château retains parts of the fortress’s perimeter walls, cellars and several vaulted rooms on the ground floor. This history offers two different perspectives side by side: the year 1750 marks the change from fortress to château, while the surviving sections of wall, cellars and vaulted rooms show the building’s physical substance. Compared with the villa, the focus here is on a historic conversion and the remains of the earlier building, not on a work of Cubist architecture.

Chapel, Wayside Shrine and Bell Tower

The Chapel of the Virgin Mary is a Neo-Gothic niche chapel. It was built in 1887 by the Strnad family on the site of an earlier chapel, at the intersection of the old road and the path to Břežany. Its history links a specific location with two building phases: the earlier chapel and the construction in 1887. Beyond Libodřice, at the fork in the path to the grove, stands a wayside shrine in the form of an iron cross on a stone plinth. The Libodřice bell tower is made of red sandstone and dates from before 1877. The buildings differ clearly: the chapel is notable for its niche form and predecessor, the wayside shrine for its cross shape, and the bell tower for its material and date. These details offer several ways to explore local architectural history.

Discover more destinations: Radovesnice Ii, Libenice, Polepy, Klučov, Lošany, Chotutice, Přišimasy, Pňov-Předhradí

For the wider travel overview: Kolín District.