František Bílek`s Villa in Kunvald

The Villa of František Bílek at the foot of Krejsa Hill was built by Professor František Bílek, an important zoologist and founder of Czech zootechnics, who became famous for saving the breeds of the Kladruber Black Horse and the Przewalski’s horse. During his lifetime Professor Bílek assembled a valuable collection of flowers and trees on the grounds of the villa situated between Kunvald and Žamberk. 

František Bílek is one of the most important Czech zoologists. He was primarily an expert on horses and their breeding, and as a recognized expert in genetics, he devoted himself to the zootechnics of horses and other livestock. To this day, his name is mostly associated with the saving of the Kladruber Black Horse breed, whose breeding he restored in Průhonice and later in Slatiňany, where they are kept to this day. In addition to this breed, he also helped to save the Przewalski's horse from extinction by founding the Czech breeding of this horse, which is now concentrated in the Prague Zoo and is one of the most successful in the world. František Bílek, who in addition to his zoological activities also worked for many years as a specialist physician-gynaecologist, spent his rare moments of leisure in the villa at the foot of Krejsa Hill. As a lover of nature, he devoted his free time to beautifying the adjacent garden and over time created a rare collection of trees and flowers that rivalled botanical gardens. After František Bílek`s death, however, the villa and garden began to deteriorate and the trees and flowers gradually died. Today, the villa is not open to the public and the garden is very unkempt compared to its original state.

GOTTHARDOVÁ, L.; BÍLEK, J. František Bílek: otec české hipologie a zootechniky. Bezdědice 2012 

Bílek villa in Kunvald (Author: www.kunvald.info)