In the Middle Ages, Cheb ranked among very wealthy and significant towns. Let us briefly discuss its famous past.
Historic Cheb
Cheb has always played a significant role in its rich history. It was a town where people and cultures metat the borderland of Bohemia and Germany. In 1147, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa received it as a family domain, and he had a Kaiserpfalz built here. To this day, it entices thousands of visitors with its preserved Black Tower, the remnants of the Romanesque castle palace, and the unique two-storey Romanesque-Gothic chapel, the only one of its kind in the Czech Republic.
King John of Bohemia annexed Cheb to the Bohemian kingdom. The exclusive standings of Cheb in this period is underscored, for instance by Cheb’s right to mint its own coins. Key political negotiations and events that affected life all throughout Europe took place here.
Perhaps the most notorious is the assassination of Duke Albrecht von Wallenstein on 25 February 1634. 2. 1634.
Significant Historical Monuments
Buildings from the Gothic period to be admired in Cheb include the Church of St Nicholas, the Franciscan Monastery, Špalíček, and Schirdingen House. Baroque monuments worth mentioning include, for instance, the Church of St Clare, the new Town Hall, the museum, the fountain, or the portal to the Church of St Wenceslas. However, modern monuments will also catch your eye, such as the theatre, the library, the court building, or the train station.
Significant Figures of Cheb
Frederick Barbarossa This German emperor hailing from the Hohenstaufen dynasty gained the Cheb area in 1167, upon which he constructed a representative Kaiserpfalz. At this time, Cheb became a significant administrative and political centre.
Ottokar II of Bohemia A Bohemian king hailing from the Přemyslid dynasty. In 1266, he took advantage of his position of administrator of imperial lands and annexed the Cheb Region to his domain. Despite the fact that his reign in the Cheb Region lasted a mere ten years, it represented the beginning of efforts of permanently controlling this territory and thus securing the western border of the Bohemian kingdom.
Wenceslas II Bohemian king, the son of Ottokar II, regained the Cheb Region in 1291 and maintained it until 1304. As the ruler, he too confirmed all privileges and freedoms that Cheb had enjoyed to date.
John of Bohemia The diplomat king on the Bohemian throne. In 1322, he gained the Cheb Region as a permanent fief from Louis IV as a token of appreciation for his help in the battle for the imperial throne. The King’s Charter dated 23 October 1322 formulated the basis for the exceptional standings of the Cheb Region within the Bohemian Kingdom and formed its relationship to Bohemia for the coming years.
George of Poděbrady The reign of George of Poděbrady created one of the most interesting appearances of Cheb. The loyal and friendly attitude of the people of Cheb with this Bohemian king made Cheb a town of princely councils, diplomatic negotiations, and engagement and wedding celebrations held under the auspices of the royal coat-of-arms. Between the years of 1459 – 1467, King George of Poděbrady visited Cheb a total of four times. He was the last monarch to sleep at Cheb Castle.
Albrecht von Wallenstein The Generalissimo of the Habsburg Imperial Army, a prominent figure of the Thirty Years’ War. During his military career, he visited Cheb a total of five times, for the first time in 1625. Wallenstein’s first wife, Lucretia of Víckov, was a descendent of the Moravian branch of the Nekš dynasty, formerly from the Cheb Region. His last visit to the town was fateful. 25. 2. On 25 February 1634, Wallenstein and his loyal officers were assassinated here.
Johann Balthasar Neumann This prominent Baroque builder and architect was born in Cheb on 27 January 1687. His name is associated with both ecclesiastical and secular buildings primarily in the German lands. After the town fire in 1742, it was at his suggestion that one of the towers of the Church of St Nicholas be fitted with a double Baroque cupola. This, in turn, was destroyed by the fire in 1809.
Friedrich Schiller The renowned German poet and playwright. Thanks to his trilogy, Wallenstein, Cheb was inscribed in the history of European and World literature. He visited the town in 1791.
Johan Wolfgang Goethe The German poet, scientist, and privy councillor. A frequent visitor of the West Bohemian spas and the town of Cheb. Through his friend, the Cheb Magistrate Councillor Grüner, he was introduced to the last executioner of Cheb, Carl Huss. He came directly to Cheb in the years 1820 – 1823, where he always stayed at the inn “U Zlatého slunce” (“At the Golden Sun”).
Rudolf Serkin A significant world pianist and pedagogue. A genius interpreter of Beethoven’s repertoire. Born in Cheb on 28 March 1903. 3. 1903. He studied the piano in Vienna, and lived in Germany and Switzerland, and from 1939 until his death 5. on 8 May 1991, in the United States of America.