Original owners
According to the market agreement dated February 6, 1930, the architect Václav Jíra bought a plot of land with cadastral number 123/8 in cadastral area of 1092,89 m2 from the Capital City of Prague for the construction of a one-storey villa on the territory of today´s Hanspaulka1.
Mr. Václav Jíra was even not only an architect but also a builder. Based on his own construction plans from 1929, he immediately started the construction procedure and the construction itself.
Less than half a year after acquiring the land, he was assigned a descriptive number 1512 on June 27, 1930, and in the following incredible six months after construction began, he was issued a building permit on August 1, 1930 for permission to „ inhabit and use the family house“2.
Villa construction 1922 – 1932
After the First World War, there was a great shortage of flats in Prague, so, the city council decided to support new construction, including in the cadastral area of Dejvice, which were January 1, 1922 annexed to Greater Prague.
The town bought real estate in Dejvice and Střešovice, including the Hanspaulka homestead from the St. Vitus Chapter and the Hostouň estate. By the agreement of April 7, 1922, land with an area of over 234 hectares was acquired, and a total of 358 houses were purchased. Based on the regulatory plan, most of the 140 construction groups were subdivided.
In the years 1927–1932, the whole area was built at a fast pace, from Gingerbread House around the Hanspaulka chateau to the Church of St. Matthew3.
Use of the residence
The villa was acquired by the Services Management of the Diplomatic Corps on December 5, 1975, from the wife of the original owner, Mrs. Marie Jírová, on the basis of a purchase contract. After the takeover, the villa was adapted for use as a residence and subsequently leased to the Embassy of the German Democratic Republic, the Embassy of the State of Kuwait, the Embassy of the Federative Republic of Brazil and Hungary. At present, the villa is managed by the Diplomatic Service, the successor organization of the Services Management of the Diplomatic Corps. The villa is leased to the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
1 Knihovní vložka 1509, Katastrální území: Dejvice, Dům 1512, ze dne 4. 7. 2019
2 Magistrát Hlavního města Prahy, č. j. III – 28876/30 ze dne 1. 8.1930
3 Hanspaulka – historie, vzpomínky, zajímavosti II. In: Praha: Unicornis, 2005, ISBN 80-86562-08-5.Kapitola Výstavba Hanspaulky a vznik TJ sokolské, s. 59-67
