Gerlach House, Renaissance building in Vnitřní Město, Plzeň, Czech Republic.

Gerlach House is a two-storey row house on Dřevěná Street in Plzeň, formed by joining two narrow Gothic plots, which is still visible from the street. Its high gable carries stucco reliefs with exotic motifs, and two portals survive: a late Gothic entrance from the end of the 15th century and a Renaissance portal dated 1575 with the initials J. M.

Construction began in 1566 under the ownership of Jan Merlian and was completed in 1583. This period marked a time when Plzeň was growing as a merchant city and prosperous citizens were building sturdy homes with stone facades.

The house takes its name from Josef Gerlach, a teacher of music, dance and calligraphy who married the widow of owner Jan Nepomuk Jelínek; in the 1840s–1870s it was a centre of Plzeň's musical life. The Renaissance portal of 1575 bears the initials J. M. of Jan Merlian, and above it a cartouche with the lions of Jan Kotorovský ze Lvovan, added after 1607.

Gerlach House stands at Dřevěná 344/4 in the old town, and its rear connects through to the Chotěšovský House at náměstí Republiky 106/13, so you can pass between the two streets. The Ethnographic Museum of the Plzeň Region has occupied the building since 1915. Look up at the facade from the street to see the two original Gothic plots joined into one house.

The house was not always privately owned: in 1682 the town bought it after it fell into disrepair, and in 1912 the municipality bought it again and gave it to the Ethnographic Museum. Its name comes from Josef Gerlach, a teacher of music, dance and calligraphy who married the widow of owner Jan Nepomuk Jelínek.