Cheb / Eger
First mentioned in 1061 as Egire, the town is the center of the Egerland region. It was named after the Eger (Ohre) River, on whose banks it lies. The Slavic name Cheb is documented from the 14th century and probably goes back to an old Czech name for a bend in the river. From 1167, the Egerland region belonged to the German Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa as an imperial fiefdom, who then had the first imperial palace (Kaiserpfalz) built in Eger on Czech soil. From the 13th century, Eger came under the influence of the Vögte of Plauen and eventually became part of the Bohemian crown – albeit as a free imperial city, a status that gradually diminished in the following period. Together with Bohemia, Cheb later became part of Austria and since 1918 has belonged to Czechoslovakia (although until 1945 still as a German-speaking town in the Sudetenland), or today the Czech Republic.
Cheb Spalicek
We are at the north-eastern end of the market square in Cheb. The market square is officially called King George of Poděbrad Square (Náměstí Krále Jiřího z Poděbrad). Here we find a curious block of buildings, the Cheb Spalicek (Egerer Stöckl in German). It consists of 11 buildings in two rows, separated by Krammergasse, which is only 160 cm wide. We are looking at the eastern row of buildings, which consist of Gothic stone buildings with half-timbered tops and are unusually high for this type of building. Originally, the Spalicek/Stöckl even consisted of three rows of buildings with two narrow alleys, but the westernmost block was demolished in the 19th century.
The Spalicek dates back to fixed market stalls and butchers’ benches that established themselves in this area of the market in the 13th century. From the early 14th century, stone houses were built here, which took on their present form in the 15th century. Demolition was considered in the 1950s, but the Stöckl/Spalicek was restored in 1965 and thus preserved. Gothic saddle portals are partly recognisable in the plinth area of the buildings and several saint niches can still be found on the façade. On the south front of the Spalicek (left), a multi-storey half-timbered bay on a stone column is recognisable. Today, this eastern row of buildings is connected on the inside and is used as a storehouse for the town museum.
In the left background of the picture we see the historic west side of the long market square and on the left edge of the picture the town hall tower of Cheb/Eger.
You can find out more about Cheb at i Vogtland-Zauber or in the or in the encyclopaedia of the city of Cheb.
