PATRICIAN HOUSE NO. 146
Introduction
House No. 146 originates from the early period of the town and can be dated no later than 1555, as indicated by the date on the entrance portal accompanied by the initials HP – Hans Pock. The preserved original Renaissance roof trusses represent an exceptional feature.
Their survival indicates that, although the building is a terraced house, it did not burn down even during the great fire of 1873. The presence of firewalls most likely prevented the spread of flames by separating the attic space from neighbouring houses.
Description
The house stands in the left row of buildings when viewed from the Church of St Joachim. It is a two-storey structure oriented towards the street with the eaves side of its gabled roof.
The façade is pierced by ten unevenly spaced window axes. On the ground floor there is the entrance portal and three modern window openings. At its core, the building is a well-preserved Renaissance house with numerous original architectural elements.
A Gothic-Renaissance ribbed vault is preserved in the passage leading to the courtyard. The same type of vault is found on the first floor, although it is concealed by a modern flat ceiling. On the ground floor, a ribbed vault survives in the right-hand room, while the left rooms, once used as a post office, have flat ceilings. The staircase is covered by a barrel vault.
Portal
The portal belongs to the traditional bench type but is exceptional in its execution. The profiled jamb of the rectangular entrance with a semicircular arch features a wide hollow moulding and intersecting ribs. The bench consoles were cut back during later alterations. The archivolt is profiled with a torus and a hollow.
The console is decorated with acanthus and clover leaves. In the corners of the portal are shallow reliefs depicting a leaping goat and vegetal motifs. The cornice is crowned by a tympanum with rosettes. In the field above appear the date 1555 and the initials HP.
A notable feature is the stonemason’s mark visible on the left springing console. The portal was created by Jörg of Bamberg, a stonemason active in the construction of the Church of St Joachim.
Rear house
No visible structural remains of the rear house survive. Its existence is confirmed, however, by stone corbels that once supported an access gallery.
Builder
The builder of the house was Hans Pock, in some sources referred to as Bock, a shareholder in several Jáchymov mines. In the mid-16th century, he attempted to ventilate the Kozí adit (also known as the Pock or Bock adit) using bellows. Air was conveyed through wooden pipes, but the method proved inefficient and was soon abandoned.
Use of the building
In 1851, the house was taken over by the town and a post office with telegraph was established there. In 1931, the post office moved to House No. 139, and in the same year the Municipal Savings Bank began operating here. In 1952, the building was taken over by the Jáchymov Mines, which transferred it in 1965 to the Geological Survey. The post office returned in 1968 and remained there until the 1990s.
Fotogalerie: https://mipalfi.rajce.idnes.cz/Jachymov%2C_cislo_popisne_146/
