Vila Grebovka was the summer residence of Moritz Gröbe, a noted Czech industrialist with business interests in mining and railroads. With debris taken from his company’s excavation of the Nusle valley railway tunnel, Mr. Gröbe built the Villa’s foundation at the top of one of Prague’s historic royal vineyards. The foundation stone for the Villa was laid in 1871, and the building was completed late in the 1890s. All of the lands of Havličkovy sady, the public park in which the Villa is located, were once the grounds of Mr. Gröbe’s private estate.
Mr. Gröbe and his family enjoyed the completed Villa for only a few years. In 1905, shortly after his death, the family sold the Villa and estate to the local municipality. The park opened to the public in 1906, and the Villa has been used as a public building ever since. During communist times, the Villa was used as the Palace of Young Pioneers.
In the early 1990’s, the City of Prague issued a public tender asking for proposals for renovating and utilizing the Villa. In a unique partnership, the use of the Villa was offered to a group of Czech reformers and American lawyers, to renovate and utilize the Villa as the global headquarters of the Czech not-for-profit entity, the CEELI Institut, o.p.s.
The Renovation of the Villa into a Residential Training Center
When the Villa was first turned over, it had been virtually empty since the late 1980s. It suffered from the ravages of time, the effects of an air raid and the resulting fire in 1945, its use as the "Palace for Youth" and its neglect during the waning years of communism and the early years of the transition to democracy.
Renovation of the Villa began with an important seed grant provided by the US Agency for International Development (USAID). With these funds, the Institute was able to renovate the ground floor of the Villa and begin its training.
The enormous challenge of raising the substantial funds necessary to renovate these historic premises required that the Institute be renovated in phases. With the expert assistance of the husband/wife team of Michal Hron and Henreta Hronova as Architect and Project Manager, and through the skill and patience of the General Contractor, SKANSKA Czech Republic, the public areas of the Villa were returned to their original splendor.
The final phase included the renovation of the lower level of the Villa into a residential facility that will house up to thirty-four participants on-site, and provide facilities for meals and relaxation while participants attend events at the Institute. The upper floors of the Villa comprise office, administrative and additional training space, as well as living quarters for visiting faculty.
An additional historic house belonging to the original Gröbe estate, the Landhaus, has been renovated into separate flats that will house up to ten participants or long-stay volunteer professionals.
Villa Gröbovka was publicly dedicated as the headquarters of the CEELI Institute on 8 June 2007.
