The villa from the interwar period

It is one of the most interesting historic buildings in Wałcz – a middle-class villa built in the style of the 20th century modernism at the turn of the 1920s and the 1930s. It was designed by a perfectly educated architect, whose plan was to create a representative residential building that would refer with its form to classicism, but very modernized. It is a brick, two-storey building with an interesting body. Under a four-hipped roof, there is a usable attic. The front façade is symmetrical, emphasized by a triaxial apparent avant-corps and a portico referring to classicism. The portico consists of four fluted columns with Ionian capitals. The architrave, embellished with a plant ornamentation, is topped with a tympanum with folded ends finished with palmette acroterions. Also, there are many decorative elements inside the building. Large, representative rooms on the ground floor of the house were furnished with a beautiful wainscot, numerous stucco decorations and facets as well as with decorative ceilings with light fittings or profiled facets. The front terrace is separated with a revetment and a banister balustrade on which two central pinnacles were placed. On the north-western part of the building, there used to be a fountain with a genre scene – a statue of a woman accompanied by animals. In front of the building, there is a row of lime trees.

According to the information by the former inhabitants of Deutsch Krone, the villa was built to the order of a rich Jewish merchant or industrialist, and was supposed to be a gift to his beloved only daughter named Liza. It was to recompense her for a loss of her mother who had died prematurely. Her father wanted her to have everything she would ever dream of – beautiful rooms, a bedroom, a playing room, a wardrobe, a dining room – even a ballroom in order for her to dance, laugh, and have fun. Everything was designed for her, but she did not have time to enjoy it. During the Crystal Night (from November 9th to 10th, 1938), in Deutsch Krone, like in many other German towns, the majority of Jewish houses, especially those more affluent, were vandalized and a synagogue was burnt down. The Jewish residents left the town in a hurry; most of them emigrated to America. Also, the owner of the villa with his daughter fled. The building was taken over by the state and allegedly handed over to the Nazi party, just to become the possession of Hermann Göring.

There were various sensational stories told about the villa. One of them says that during the Second World War Eva Braun came surreptitiously, under the cover of darkness, and sojourned there for two or three days. The town enjoyed a reputation of a peaceful resort town with good climate. It was a place where the residents of Berlin used to come for their short vacations. The town was recognized as a good place for important people to stay safely in those difficult times. The preparations for the arrival of Eva Braun allegedly lasted relatively long. The town and its residents were checked – it was necessary to provide her absolute security. The building itself was additionally secured and the watch in front of the villa was strengthened. According to the initial plans, Eva Braun was supposed to spend there several months. However, this did not happen so; she left for reasons unknown already after three days, immediately after she received a letter from the Führer, which was transported there at night by a messenger. What was so important? Was she necessary for Adolf Hitler? Maybe there was no longer any danger that she would interrupt him in something? There was also a version saying that she was supposed to wait there for Adolf Hitler and they were to travel on together, but the arrival of the Führer to Wałcz came to no effect, because plans of an assassination attempt were found and the plans of further travel were changed. How was it really? This will be probably never known.

It is known, however, that Eva Braun went back alone (with an appropriate company, of course). When she was about to leave the town, the inhabitants of Deutsch Krone were arranged in a line in order to bid the unique guest farewell with all due ceremony. This fact was remembered by a few residents of Deutsch Krone, who took part in this parting as children. Others claim that the town have never anything in common with this person...

After the Second World War, the building was taken over by the Treasury and handed over to the army. A kindergarten for the soldiers’ children was established in the building and it was open till 2002. Nowadays, the villa is a private propriety and it should not be trespassed.