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Date:
23 Aug 2025
The Public Hall of the Border Guard: The Heart of Ústí Culture and Our Key Partner
For more than ten years, they have proven that art belongs not only in galleries but also in everyday life. The Hraničář association, led by graduates of the local university, has become a driving force for positive change in Ústí nad Labem. They strive to ensure that young people from the region do not leave but find a reason to stay here. It is in them that we have found the ideal partner to breathe new life into both Villa Heller and the building on Špitálské Square.
The Veřejný sál Hraničář Association is today an established community and artistic platform in Ústí that successfully connects everyday life with art and culture in a unique way. It has more than a decade of artistic, cultural, and educational activities behind it, which are conducted in the iconic building of the former cinema Hraničář. The leading figures of the association are graduates of the Faculty of Art and Design of Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem (FUD UJEP), which brings a high level of professionalism and creativity to their work.
The cultivation of the city and the fight against the drain of talents
The significance of this association's activities lies primarily in the cultivation of public space and the enrichment of the local community. They organise a range of leisure activities aimed at children, families, and seniors, thus appealing to a wide spectrum of social and age groups. Their activities significantly enhance life in Ústí nad Labem.
They have a higher aim – in this way, they seek to mitigate, and over time perhaps even completely reverse, the outflow of young educated people. These individuals often leave the city after completing their studies for better opportunities in other regions. The Border Guard aims to create an environment that gives them a reason to stay.
The bridge between the university and the city
The Hraničář Association closely collaborates with the Jan Evangelista Purkyně University, with the local government, and other organizations and institutions. Their activities extend into all areas of community life, and through their actions, they often express themselves on important issues and topics of contemporary life. They represent a natural and functional connection – a kind of bridge – between the university environment of UJEP and the city of Ústí nad Labem itself.
A new chapter in the Heller Villa and in the building at Špitálské Square
Mutual cooperation makes huge sense for both parties. Villa Heller represents an optimal intimate space for smaller events that would not resonate in the large hall of the cinema. The building on Špitálské Square will bring a new dimension in the form of residential stays for artists and students and will provide facilities for further artistic, educational, and exhibition activities. At the same time, this organization practically fulfills everything that the Martina Dryk Foundation wants to focus on.
The NFMD has the assurance in this organization that Villa Heller will really open to citizens. Thanks to the established organization, which has long been offering quality educational, social, and cultural events, we know that the house will thrive. The representative spaces of Villa Heller will also be optimal for use by other potential partners, for joint activities, meetings, and mini-conferences on current topics.