Rudolf Janko

The architect and builder Rudolf Janko was born in Dobronín, a village near Jihlava, in 1891, into the family of farmer Johann Janko and his wife Anna, née Rippel. He was the third of five children. In many ways, 1926 was a turning point for Janko – he married Anna Neugebauer from Lanškroun. Together, they moved to Bedřichov near Jihlava and, according to a civil registry entry, Janko even abandoned the Catholic Church in that year. Two years later, their daughter Anita was born. In 1928, Janko designed and built a villa for his family, with steep saddle roofs in the traditional morphology, which can be found today at Halounova Street 6.

Rudolf Janko also designed the premises for his architectural and construction office, which he moved to Bedřichov from the neighbouring village of Pávov. In the period from the mid-twenties until 1939, his office contributed significantly to the growth of the village thanks to the houses it developed. Janko designed mostly single-storey and two-storey houses, in a simple traditionalist spirit, with a saddle roof, a raised stone foundation, and a projecting porch. The simple appearance of the building was often enriched with subtle traditional decor. A large part of his construction activity is represented by small adaptations to houses, especially extensions and new additional floors. In addition, he also designed the now lost fire station for the Czech Volunteer Fire Brigade (Sbor českých dobrovolných hasičů) in Bedřichov (1937) and is documented as the building contractor of the Bedřichov Council House (1930). The designs were originally drawn up by Janko himself, but they were later replaced with designs by another architect and builder from Bedřichov, Johann Schindler.

Rudolf Janko's most significant projects include Mr and Mrs Nekol's mill and residential building (1934), which shows that the architect was able to meet the requirements of his clients. In this building, he completely abandoned the traditional look of the façades and focused on the function of the building, which he managed to make visible on the outside thanks to the purist appearance he chose. It is also a building that has not been subjected to any significant later interventions – while the houses based on Janko's designs have often been rebuilt beyond all recognition today.

Although Rudolf Janko's family is listed as German in official documents, he adapted his architectural practice to the Czech environment. He used Czech or German in the building plans depending on the client and their nationality, and his design office even had stamps in different languages for this purpose.

Janko still remains an under-explored figure in architecture. Only a fraction of his work has been presented here, defined by the territory of the former Bedřichov u Jihlavy. His post-war fate also remains unknown.

LVo