On the edge of Prague’s district Vinohrady, there is a miniature square on a hidden street where the Čapek brothers built their residence in 1923. Rumor has it that the duplex where both brothers lived with their families was paid for with the money that Karel made from selling the copyright to his famous play R.U.R. to Paramount Pictures in Hollywood. Even though the film had never been made, the brothers finished building in 1924 and since then time has stopped in this little square.

The house was designed by the architect Ladislav Machoň. His project was influenced mainly by Jan Kotěra and also somewhat by slowly growing functionalism and plateauing art deco. The house follows a small colony of spectacular villas built in the 1920s on a hillside between Vršovice and Vinohrady, not far from the popular Dykova Street.

Today, the house is a property of Prague 10 district and it is becoming more accessible to the public. The garden and a major part of the interior, including Karel’s office and a room of Pátečníci where both brothers used to meet Masaryk, Beneš, Peroutka, and others on Friday afternoons, should be opened to the public soon. Josef’s part of the house is to this date occupied by his descendants.