HOUSE NO. 12
Introduction
House No. 12 is among the few authentically preserved and entirely masonry two-storey buildings from the early phase of Jáchymov’s development. The vast majority of houses originally had a half-timbered upper floor or no second storey at all. The building therefore represents an exceptionally valuable testimony to the early construction phase of the town, in which late Gothic and Renaissance elements intertwine.
Paradoxically, the gradual deterioration of the building helped reveal its true historical value. Due to water penetration through uncovered window openings and damaged roof structures, original Renaissance plasterwork with figurative painting was uncovered in the main halls of the first and second floors.
Architectural elements
From the original construction period, the entrance portal, Renaissance window surrounds, a carved stone handrail of the staircase with a spanning vault to the first floor, and above all the vaults have been preserved. The ground floor contains late Gothic cross-ribbed vaults.
Particularly exceptional is the circular rib vault in the hall of the first floor, where the ribs converge in the centre at a keystone. The use of this type of vault in a patrician house is unique not only in Jáchymov but within the country as a whole. Comparable structures can be found, for example, on the Riders’ Staircase and the spiral staircase of the Vladislav Hall at Prague Castle, in the Vladislav Hall itself, or in major church constructions such as St Barbara’s Church in Kutná Hora and St Nicholas’ Church in Louny. Such vaults were typically reserved for prestigious buildings symbolising power and wealth.
From the early period of the town, the so-called rear house was also preserved. It was connected to the main house by a covered gallery and was single-storey or at most two-storey.
Description
Facing the Church of St Joachim, the house stands on the left side of the square and is oriented towards the square with its eaves side. The façade on the upper floors is pierced by three grouped windows. This modification dates from the late 1970s, as originally a balcony occupied the central axis of the first floor.
In terms of layout, the building combines a deep three-tract plan with a transverse two-tract arrangement, the central longitudinal tract forming a passageway.
The ground floor is also three-axial, with a centrally placed entrance portal set on a staircase. In the side axes there are so-called shop windows with Neo-Renaissance framing, occupying almost the entire surface of the street wall of the rooms.
After the fire of 1873, the façade was remodelled in the Neo-Renaissance style, incorporating stucco rustication on the ground floor, pilasters, and decorated parapets with medallions. The façade is crowned by a cornice with decorative consoles.
Portal
The Renaissance seat portal has a semicircular arch and profiled jambs. After the fire of 1873, a Neo-Renaissance superstructure with acroteria was added above the profiled cornice.
Rear house
Rear houses are characteristic of Jáchymov. While the front house served representative and residential purposes, the rear building fulfilled economic functions and was usually constructed above a cellar excavated into the slope.
In this case, the rear house was probably built above the outlet of an adit, accessed from the cellar. As late as 1970, the two-storey rear building still stood and was connected to the main house by a covered gallery running along the fire wall between houses No. 12 and 11. During the following fifteen years, it was removed, and by 1985 only remnants of staircases, terraces in the slope, and the cellar remained. During this period, the wall separating the cellar from the adit also collapsed.
Fotogalerie: https://mipalfi.rajce.idnes.cz/Jachymov%2C_Patricijsky_dum_c.p._12/
