Villa Mairea is a villa and guest house built in 1938-1939 as the residence of patronages Harry and Maire Gullichsen. It was designed by their friend, the most famous Finnish architect Alvar Aalto. The house is one of the most successful examples of the modernist style in architecture and one of Aalto's most widely known designs. The interior of the Villa mainly consists of modern art and Artek furniture, which form a very rare collection of Finnish and international art and design.
Currently, Villa Mairea is used for entertainment purposes by the Ahlström Corporation. It also accommodates the Mairea Foundation. Guided tours of the house can be booked from the Mairea Foundation:
tel. +358 10 888 4460 or info@villamairea.fi.
Reference: Official Website
The Clementinum is a historic complex of buildings in Prague. Until recently the complex hosted the National, University and Technical libraries, the City Library also being located nearby on Mariánské Náměstí. The Technical library and the Municipal library have moved to the Prague National Technical Library at Technická 6 since 2009. It is currently in use as the National Library of the Czech Republic.
Its history dates from the existence of a chapel dedicated to Saint Clement in the 11th century. A Dominican monastery was founded in the medieval period, which was transformed in 1556 to a Jesuit college. In 1622 the Jesuits transferred the library of Charles University to the Klementinum, and the college was merged with the University in 1654. The Jesuits remained until 1773, when the Klementinum was established as an observatory, library, and university by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.