PATRICIAN HOUSE NO. 72
History
Although the house is traditionally dated to the years 1535–1540, its core is probably older. Originally it functioned as a Šlik mining administrative building, yet it was constructed as a tithe house. It therefore served both as the seat of an office and as the residence of the tithe collector. It is possible that the building functioned as the seat of two offices simultaneously, which would correspond to its original two-tract layout.
In 1538, the town of Jáchymov purchased the building from the patrician Mikuláš Streudel and established the deanery here.
The last major alteration was the Baroque reconstruction after the fire of 1782, carried out by the royal tithe collector Johann Miesl von Zeileisen.
Description
It is a two-storey terraced house with courtyard extensions. The rear house is connected to the main building by a linking tract, forming a square courtyard. The roof is gabled and broken by dormer windows. Its richly decorated Baroque façade is unique within Jáchymov.
The façade, divided into six window axes, is vertically articulated by pilasters at the sides and in the centre. On the ground floor they are rusticated; on the first floor they have Doric capitals; on the second floor Corinthian capitals. A profiled cornice separates the storeys, and the roof cornice projects prominently.
Above the first-floor windows are segmentally curved pediments with rich vegetal ornamentation. The decoration incorporates mascarons, rocaille motifs and a miner’s bust. On the second floor, decorated mascarons with rocaille motifs and vegetal ornaments appear again. The windows are framed by stucco surrounds, and rectangular stucco panels are placed beneath them.
Behind the originally Renaissance portal lies an entrance hall with a barrel vault. From there rises a straight staircase covered by a rising barrel vault. The upper hall is vaulted with a barrel vault with lunettes. In several rooms of the rear house, flat ceilings with stucco mirrors have been preserved.
Portal and window surrounds
The Renaissance niche portal with seating benches is a classic example of the local portal type, showing a clear influence of Saxon stonemasons, and dates from around 1540. The flat niches in the chamfered jambs rise from console-like seats and are crowned by a berry-shaped baldachin. The archivolt is decorated with mouldings and hollows.
The aedicule consists of slender columns with fluted bases. A richly profiled broken cornice supports a superstructure with a pierced niche that originally housed a statue of St John of Nepomuk. Angels and vine motifs flank the niche, and a crown surmounts the composition.
The window surrounds with recesses and high keystones decorated with acanthus spirals date from the same period.
