Pachelbelův dům, History museum in a merchant house in Cheb, Czech Republic
Pachelbelův dům is a four-winged burgher's house on the north side of Cheb's market square, náměstí Krále Jiřího z Poděbrad 492/3, with a second facade toward the church square of St. Nicholas. A Gothic portal with the town coat of arms leads into a square courtyard with a wooden balustraded balcony; above the arch are the Graff and Holdorff coats of arms of 1603. The high saddle roof carries several rows of dormers, and Gothic masonry survives in much of the ground floor.
First documented in 1390, the house was rebuilt in the early 15th century as a four-wing complex around a square courtyard. Richard Holdorff had the main house facing the market square remodelled in Late Renaissance style between 1600 and 1603. Wolf Adam Pachelbel, Lutheran mayor during the Thirty Years' War, owned it from 1620; after his expulsion it passed to the city. On 25 February 1634 Albrecht von Wallenstein was murdered in a room of the wing facing the church.
The building reflects regional life through displays of local costumes, crafts, and everyday objects that show how people lived and worked across different periods. Walking through the rooms gives a sense of the area's traditions and skills passed down through generations.
The museum entrance is on the north side of náměstí Krále Jiřího z Poděbrad, at number 492/3; a second Pachelbel house stands at náměstí Krále Jiřího z Poděbrad 3/18, so check the address. The Gothic portal leads into a square courtyard with a wooden balustraded balcony. The building was reconstructed in 2019–2020, when the exhibitions were reworked.
Two family coats of arms are carved into the entrance portal, marking the names of owners who shaped the house across generations. These details are easy to miss but reveal how ownership passed through specific families over more than 300 years.
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