Libodřice: Cubist Architecture and Local History

Discover Libodřice through several distinct traces of its history: the cubist Bauer’s Villa, the Libodřický burial mound site, the former castle, as well as chapels and other buildings. Architecture, archaeology, and local religious history each offer a different focus. If you are planning a cultural stay, you can give each of these topics a different degree of emphasis.

Cubist Architecture and Exhibition

Bauer’s Villa was built between 1912 and 1914 to a design by architect Josef Gočár. It is a unique and stylistically distinctive work of cubist architecture. Its construction dates, architect, and style give the building a clear identity; for architecture enthusiasts, it provides a specific work at the heart of the town’s history.

The cultural theme extends from the cubist building to furniture and applied arts. Before visiting, you can decide whether you are more interested in architecture or design: an exhibition of cubist furniture and applied arts is currently on display inside the villa; check the exhibition schedule before your trip.

Bauer’s Villa reopened in July 2025. Check the current visiting arrangements and exhibition schedule before your trip so that your plans suit your visit.

Archaeology and Castle History

The Libodřický burial mound site offers a different cultural and historical focus: it comprises around 25 burial mounds with stone cores and surrounding stone rings, and is an archaeological heritage conservation reserve.

Unlike Bauer’s Villa, the focus here is not a single work of cubist architecture, but a group of archaeological burial mounds. This contrast can help you define your trip’s cultural focus more precisely: architectural history or archaeological heritage.

The castle in Libodřice was converted from an earlier fortress in 1750. Parts of the fortress’s perimeter masonry, cellars, and several vaulted rooms on the ground floor have been preserved in the former castle. This is a different kind of historical trace: the conversion of an earlier fortification and the structural elements preserved in the castle.

The periods also set these subjects apart: the former fortress was converted into a castle in 1750, while Bauer’s Villa was built between 1912 and 1914. You can therefore consider different periods of architectural history and a cubist design as distinct cultural interests.

Chapels and Other Buildings

The Neo-Gothic niche chapel of the Virgin Mary was built in 1887 on the site of an older chapel, commissioned by the Strnad family. It stands at the crossroads of the old road and the path to Břežany.

Beyond Libodřice, at the fork in the path leading to the grove, stands a wayside shrine in the form of an iron cross on a stone plinth. The bell tower of Libodřice is made of red sandstone and dates to before 1877. These buildings add further specific motifs from the town’s history to the villa and castle.

If you are looking for a hotel for a cultural stay, you can prioritize the focus that interests you most: the cubist work and its exhibition, the archaeological burial mounds, or the castle and religious history. This makes it easier to assess Libodřice based on which of these subjects you would most like to explore during your trip.

Discover More Destinations

Discover more destinations: Doubravčice, Kolín, Nová Ves-Ohrada, Konárovice, Tuklaty, Zalešany, Červené Pečky, Radovesnice I.

For the overview of the wider area: Kolín District.