HOUSE NO. 2
Introduction
House No. 2 stands in the western row of houses on Náměstí Republiky, immediately next to the Town Hall, No. 1. It belongs to the oldest surviving buildings in the historic centre of Jáchymov, and its architectural development dates back to the first half of the 16th century. Although the house was altered several times over the centuries, parts of the original Renaissance building have survived in its masonry and vaults.
Description
The house is a two-storey building with an irregular rectangular floor plan, partly built into the relatively steep slope. The main façade faces the square and has seven irregularly arranged window axes. Its present appearance is largely the result of alterations following the fire of 1873. Behind the restrained façade, however, valuable older structures have survived.
A rear courtyard wing is attached to the house and originally extended into the slope. Some of the most interesting historic parts of the building have survived here. Both the ground floor and the upper floor contain barrel and cross vaults whose construction corresponds to the building tradition of Jáchymov around the middle of the 16th century. Some of the vaults are supported by central columns and feature characteristic ribs.
The cellar spaces also form an important part of the house. Their construction points to earlier building phases and confirms that the house was not erected as a modern replacement for an older building, but that its basic structure dates back to the beginnings of stone urban construction in Jáchymov.
History
The house was built sometime after 1531, during a period of rapid building development in Jáchymov. Stone construction was already predominant in this part of the town at that time, and House No. 2 was a stone building from the outset. Its location next to the Town Hall also made it one of the most important building plots in the town at the time. The name of the original builder, however, is not yet known.
The house was affected by the great Jáchymov fire of 1538. The building survey indicates that extensive rebuilding took place after the fire, and a number of the surviving vaults and other structures can be dated approximately to the period 1538–1542. The building was not completely reconstructed, however. Older parts of the house were incorporated into the rebuilding, and some of the original structures were preserved.
In this context, the survey draws attention to Jan Kopp, a stonemason and municipal builder documented in Jáchymov during the 1530s. He was involved in important municipal building projects, and it is therefore possible that he also took part in the reconstruction of House No. 2 after the fire. No direct evidence has been found, however, identifying him as the builder of this particular house.
Another major fire struck Jáchymov on 23 July 1782. A substantial part of the town was destroyed, and the area around the Town Hall was also affected. House No. 2 was subsequently repaired, and some of its parts were altered in the style of the late Baroque and emerging Classicism. Some interior modifications and changes to the internal layout probably date from this period.
The most significant alteration to the appearance of the house came after the catastrophic fire of 31 March 1873. The owner at the time was Ferdinand Frisch, who applied for permission to repair the building as early as 1 May of the same year. The damaged house was to be rebuilt according to a design, and some sections were newly constructed. A year later, on 30 October 1874, it was recorded that the building had already been reconstructed and that the work had been carried out according to the approved plan.
The rebuilding did not, however, mean the complete removal of the older house. On the contrary, substantial parts of the earlier masonry, cellars and vaults survived behind the newer façade. They make it possible to trace the building's development from the 16th century into the modern period.
Further alterations followed in the 20th century. In 1924, the internal arrangement of the ground floor was changed and entrances and commercial spaces were modified. At that time, the house still contained rooms associated with the former inn. After the Second World War, the building became the property of the town and was subsequently put to a different use. During the post-war decades, it was adapted for various public and operational purposes.
In 1957, ownership of the house passed to the state, specifically to Jáchymovské doly, national enterprise Jáchymov. Further alterations took place in 1987, including the removal of part of the older courtyard wing. Despite these interventions, the house has retained important historic structures.
Interesting Facts
The greatest value of the house lies not in its present façades, but in what has survived behind them. According to the building survey, some of the surviving vaults can be dated to around 1540. Their construction is similar to solutions known from other important Jáchymov buildings erected after the fire of 1538.
The location of the house is also significant. It stands directly next to the Town Hall, on one of the most prestigious plots in historic Jáchymov. Although the identity of the first builder is unknown, the location itself and the quality of the original construction indicate that this was not an ordinary house on the outskirts of the town.
In more recent times, the house also served a hospitality function. Older photographs show it with the inscription Zum Freischütz. Even during the alterations of 1924, the ground floor included a former inn kitchen and other rooms connected with the operation of the establishment.
Owners
The earliest known owner is documented only from the 18th century. In 1761, the house is recorded as the property of Adalbert Rauscher, a miner. Records from the following years indicate that he lived there with his family, and further information about children born in the house dates from this period.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the house was owned by Johann Hammerschmied, a butcher. In the following decades, Josef Hammerschmied, Johann Kliegl and later Ferdinand Frisch appear as owners. Frisch is documented as the owner at the time of the great fire of 1873 and the subsequent rebuilding of the house.
In the 20th century, one of the owners was Josef Schneider, who planned extensive alterations to the ground floor and commercial premises in 1924. After the Second World War, the house became the property of the town of Jáchymov and in 1957 subsequently passed to the state, specifically to Jáchymovské doly.
House No. 2 thus represents one of the historical layers of Jáchymov, preserving within a single building the development of urban architecture from the first half of the 16th century through to the 20th century.
