PATRICIAN HOUSE NO. 143
Introduction
The house was built at the very beginning of the town’s existence. Its builder and first owner was Heinrich of Könneritz, one of the key figures in early Jáchymov. He served as mining governor and chief mint master and was among the town’s co-founders. From the outset, the house represented an important urban residence reflecting the high status of its owner.
Description
Originally a two-storey building, with the upper storey constructed in half-timbered form, the house is today single-storey and represents the angular type. A courtyard wing, functioning as a connecting passage, extends perpendicularly from the front house and originally linked it with the typical rear house. The courtyard had a square layout and was enclosed by the connecting tract or a boundary wall. The rear single-tract house survives today only in small part.
The façade is divided into four window axes on the upper floor and is crowned with a gabled roof. The windows are semicircular and fitted with moulded window sills. In the interiors, a combination of star and net patterns is transformed into a cell vault structure.
Architectural elements
Besides the portal and window surrounds, the house contains several notable features that rank it among the most important historic buildings in the town. Foremost among them is the cell vault, sometimes referred to as a diamond vault.
This vault type is characteristic of the Late Gothic period. It consists of an arrangement of small vault cells without ribs, forming a star-shaped pattern.
Another interesting feature can be found at the left ground-floor window. It is a stone mask that was once mistakenly regarded as a façade addition made after the reconstruction following the fire of 1873. However, on the stone surround there is a heavily damaged inscription reading “ANNO 17 …. 14 RENOV.”, indicating an earlier origin.
A discreet yet valuable element is the small attic window of the front house facing the staircase alley. Owing to the narrowness of the alley, the window remained intact. It is glazed with glass lenses set in a lead frame.
In 1984, a medieval adit was discovered beneath the front tract during a building-historical survey.
Portal
The late Gothic niche-type portal with seating benches features a pointed arch with chamfered and hollowed jambs. The hollow moulding ends in a small shield that transitions into console-like seats. The aedicule of the portal is decorated with rustication suggested in stucco.
History
In 1910, a confectionery operated in the house, and at that time the right-hand window was inserted, replacing the original openings. In the 1930s, Café Weis was located here.
After the Second World War, between 1949 and 1965, the house was owned and used by the Jáchymov Mines. On 3 May 1958 it was declared a protected monument, and on 18 January 1964 it was entered into the list of state cultural monuments.
Until 1979, when he was forced to emigrate, PhDr. Jan Urban lived in the house. From that year onward, the building remained uninhabited. During a heritage inspection on 27 November 2013, its condition was classified as critical.
In 2017 and 2018, structural stabilization of the house and its gable wall was carried out. Securing tie rods were installed above the ceiling of the second floor.
