# Solomon's Mansion, Katharinberg, Czech Republic - March 2012



## fallstern (Mar 6, 2012)

Hello everyone, and welcome to another one of my reports. I hope you enjoy it.
This time, I went to one of the suburbs of Reichenberg (Liberec) called Katharinberg (Kateřinky). This area used to be an independent village until the 1950s, when it was annexed by the city of Liberec. It forms the border between Liberec and the Isergebirge (Jizerské Mountains). 
The building you are about to explore with me is called Solomon's mansion after its late owner, Josef Ignaz Solomon von Hohenweeb. Solomon was a Czech enterpreneur from the 19th century, who ran several weaving and dying industries in Katharinberg. He even helped build two of the local churches with his money, for which he was promoted to a nobleman by Austria-Hungary and gained his noble name von Hohenweeb.
This was his residence. A magnificent villa in the style of art nouveau, right in the heart of Katharinberg industrial area. My best guess is it got confiscated in 1948, became a toy of the state and subsequently crumbled like this. *EDIT:*I have recently learned that this building was in an excellent shape until the 1980s since I found a photo of it from this era. It used to provide shelter for the Jedlička Institute (Jedličkův ústav - an establishment for handicapped people) and therefore was still beautiful and polished up. So, my new guess is that some jerk bought it during the privatization in the 1990s and let it fall to disrepair. *end of EDIT*
As you can see, the building is totally ruined and the local council will soon be forced to demolish it. The edifice is beyond repair and for sale for CZK 100.000 (around US$ 5.000, around GBP 3.500), but even though that is a ridiculous amount for a house of this size, you would have to spend millions to repair it, even if it was possible at all.

So, let's begin. This is where the building stands - right next to a local road. The council is worried that the mansion might collapse on it.




Once more, now from a more pleasant angle - the back door.




What you see here is actually a full-grown birch tree growing where a 2nd floor room should be.




There must have been a truly grandiose circular window here. Ach, the shame on us...




This is how the facade looks like from the road. Imagine this collapsing on your car and the council's decision to level the place seems a lot more understandable.




And this is from the front. Notice the beautiful woodcarvings on the railing.




The entryway... blow me away, this shot did.




A detail on the tower. It is no longer accessible because the 2nd floor is largely gone.




Here lies Somebody's Childhood...




... and here a burst tyre magazine.




This is what the hallways look like. The place must be deserted for 20-30 years or so now.




A local hobo seems to have made a cozy nest in here...




Pitiful remnants of old plumbing. Why it wasn't stolen yet - I have no clue.




The ground floor. Most of it looks like this and the 1st and 2nd floors are in an even worse condition than this, as we shall see later on.




This doorway used to lead to another part of the ground floor which has long since collapsed.




The main entryway. Imagine how goddamn magnificent this must have been in better days...




Descending into the cellar...




SETUP my ass. This used to be some sort of either a bathroom or a kitchen.








Is it me, or does this look like an angel wing?




Some sort of cellar annex, god knows what it is...




1st floor. Kinda difficult to reach because the stairs crumble under your feet, but I made it after all.




1st floor hallway. There is literally nothing left here.




This is some good work with wood & bricks...




And the 1st floor ceiling.




One of the smaller rooms on 1st floor. One of the more inhabitable ones.




The rest of the 1st floor looks like this:




Ex-circuit box or whachamacallit. Most of the electrical wires in the building have long since been stolen and sold.




Believe it or not, this is the staircase leading to the 2nd floor...




... and this is what the 2nd floor looks like.




There used to be a sort of attic (judging from the defunct stairs).




Well, that's it for Solomon's mansion. I have more photos, the entire collection can be seen on my flickr  here.


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## UE-OMJ (Mar 6, 2012)

Nice, but that place looks like it's going to fall down at any moment... :-/ Shame you cant get up into the tower still. Not sure I'd be brave enough to venture up there though.


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## mookster (Mar 6, 2012)

Looks like it's held up by nothing more than wishful thinking!


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## corn_flake88 (Mar 6, 2012)

Oh wow! It's so sad to see beautiful buildings like this go into dis-repair. I love the woodwork on the balcony and the tiling in the enterance hallway 
Thanks!


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## flyboys90 (Mar 6, 2012)

The entrance is one of the best Art Nouveau styled I have seen, I would loved to have seen it at its best, great report and pics.


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## theartist (Mar 8, 2012)

nature will reclaim its own


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## Flexible (Mar 8, 2012)

Great pics. Clearly that was a once beautiful house in a still beautiful location. Thanks for the short history, I'd like to see a pic of the house as it was. What happened to Salomon / his family? I found the tramp's matress quite poignant, the house has accomodated the super-rich and the very poor.


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## King Al (Mar 9, 2012)

Great pics fallstern! This place has certainly seen better days,


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## fallstern (Mar 12, 2012)

Flexible said:


> Great pics. Clearly that was a once beautiful house in a still beautiful location. Thanks for the short history, I'd like to see a pic of the house as it was. What happened to Salomon / his family? I found the tramp's matress quite poignant, the house has accomodated the super-rich and the very poor.



Excellent point, I didn't think of that... the beggar's mattress in the rich man's house...
I suppose Mr. Solomon is long dead and any offspring he might have had have either been expelled in 1945, emigrated or still live here somewhere. The Northern Bohemia region was the source of some major Czech-German tensions in the 20th century and this surely left a trace on Mr. Solomon's life.


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