Villa izvor - Tito's Lake house
Villa Izvor also sometimes referred to as Objekt 99 is located near the Plitvice Lakes in Croatia. In 1948 the building work began on the villa in the middle of a forest; a perfect hideaway for President Tito and high ranking JVA (Yugoslavian Army) officials. The villa was constructed not by skilled craftsmen but by prisoners and it took 5 years to complete, finally taking guests in 1953.
The Villa was built on a grand scale with two large wings creating a U shape from a central atrium type space. The left hand side was Tito’s and had many rooms solely for his disposal and of course the best view, the right hand wing held 20 apartments for guests and officials, No service staff stayed in the building overnight allowing any discussions that occurred to be assured the strictest of privacy, staff where housed nearby. Under Tito’s private suite was a games room, a sports hall, and a bowling alley, elsewhere in the complex there was apparently also a cinema!
The main space that links the 2 buildings is reached from the front door by a large, grand, sweeping marble staircase, which in turn then leads back down into the seating area and tall windows that we can only assume used to look over a well maintained garden.
It is reported the Tito himself only visited the Villa 5 times, but his staff and trusted colleagues are believed to have visited a lot more.
The Villa was built on a grand scale with two large wings creating a U shape from a central atrium type space. The left hand side was Tito’s and had many rooms solely for his disposal and of course the best view, the right hand wing held 20 apartments for guests and officials, No service staff stayed in the building overnight allowing any discussions that occurred to be assured the strictest of privacy, staff where housed nearby. Under Tito’s private suite was a games room, a sports hall, and a bowling alley, elsewhere in the complex there was apparently also a cinema!
The main space that links the 2 buildings is reached from the front door by a large, grand, sweeping marble staircase, which in turn then leads back down into the seating area and tall windows that we can only assume used to look over a well maintained garden.
It is reported the Tito himself only visited the Villa 5 times, but his staff and trusted colleagues are believed to have visited a lot more.
