Editing Cheb (section)

==Sights==
[[File:Cheb sv Erhart a Uršula (1180) DSCN1472.JPG|thumb|Chapel of Saints Martin, Erhard and Ursula]]

===Cheb Castle===
On the rock in the northwest of the historic town centre lies Cheb Castle. It was founded around 1125 and was rebuilt into a [[Kaiserpfalz]] at the end of the 12th century. It is the only example of a Kaiserpfalz in the Czech Republic. At the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, the castle was partially rebuilt into a Baroque fortress citadel. Although the castle is mostly a ruin, the torso of the palace, the defensive Black Tower and the Chapel of Saints Martin Erhard and Ursula.<ref name=castle/>

The Chapel of Saints Martin, Erhard and Ursula is a unique Romanesque-Gothic double chapel. It is the best preserved example of the [[Hohenstaufen]] architecture in Central Europe. The chapel has two storeys; the lower storey is in [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] style, while the upper storey is [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]]. On the first floor, there are original capitals of marble columns, decorated with figurative scenes of angels with Bibles as well as lewd scenes.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kaple sv. Erharda a Uršuly – dvojitá kaple|url=https://www.hrad-cheb.cz/cz/kaple-sv-erharda-a-ursuly|publisher=Cheb Castle|language=cs|access-date=2023-03-24}}</ref>

===Town square===
[[File:Cheb Špalíček 2.jpg|thumb|Špalíček]]
In the centre of the historic town centre is the Krále Jiřího z Poděbrad Square. One of the symbols of the Cheb architecture is a group of houses known as ''Špalíček''. It is located in the middle of the town square and dates from the 13th century. The bizarre complex of eleven houses consists of narrow, four and five-storey houses without a courtyard, divided by a {{convert|1.6|m|ft}} wide alley. They are mostly in the late Gothic style. The outline of the two blocks can still be seen on the oldest existing records of 1472.<ref>{{cite web |title=Špalíček|url=http://encyklopedie.cheb.cz/cz/encyklopedie/spalicek|work=Encyklopedie města Cheb|language=cs|access-date=2022-06-07}}</ref>

The most valuable burgher house on the town square is the Schirdinger House. It is a Gothic house, built at the beginning of the 13th century and restored after the fire in the 15th century. The Renaissance reconstruction took place in 1622–1626. Today it houses a gallery and a café.<ref>{{cite web |title=Schirdingerovský dům|url=https://pamatkovykatalog.cz/schirdingerovsky-dum-20576146|publisher=National Heritage Institute|language=cs|access-date=2023-03-24}}</ref>

Among the other valuable houses on the town square is the Town House, also known as Pachelbel's House or Juncker House. The house was first mentioned already in the 14th century. On 24 February 1634, [[Albrecht von Wallenstein]] was murdered here. Since 1873, the house serves as the town museum. The museum was later expanded to the neighbouring house.<ref>{{cite web |title=Town House|url=https://www.visitcheb.cz/pamatky/domy-namesti-pesi-zona/48?lang=en|publisher=Visit Cheb|access-date=2023-03-24}}</ref>

The Grüner House on the town square is a Gothic-Baroque house. It belonged to the well-known Wrendl family from 1591 until 1876, whose family coat of arms is above the entrance. When the house was owned by magistrate councillor Grüner in the first half of the 19th century, [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]] frequently spent time here.<ref>{{cite web |title=Grüner House|url=https://visitcheb.cz/pamatky/domy-namesti-pesi-zona/16?lang=en|publisher=Visit Cheb|access-date=2023-03-24}}</ref>

===Sacral monuments===
[[File:Cheb velký kostel 1.jpg|thumb|Church of Saints Nicholas and Elisabeth]]
[[File:Maria Loreto (CZ) Vorderseite.jpg|thumb|Maria Loreto]]
The Church of Saints Nicholas and Elisabeth is the main church of the town and the oldest late Gothic building. It was established as a three-naved Romanesque [[basilica]] in the 1220s, of which the western portal and the lower part of the tower remain in place. After the fire in 1270, it was rebuilt in the Gothic style, another reconstruction took place in the 1470s. After the fire of 1742, the tower was rebuilt with a Baroque [[cupola]], according to the design of the indigenous architect [[Balthasar Neumann]]. The top of the twin steeples were destroyed by bombardment at the end of [[World War II]] and restored in summer 2008. The church tower is open to the public as a lookout lower.<ref>{{cite web |title=Church of Saint Nicholas|url=https://visitcheb.cz/pamatky/kostely-klastery/105?lang=en|publisher=Visit Cheb|access-date=2023-03-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Kostel sv. Mikuláše|url=https://pamatkovykatalog.cz/kostel-sv-mikulase-15266492|publisher=National Heritage Institute|language=cs|access-date=2023-03-24}}</ref>

The [[Franciscans|Franciscan]] monastery with the Church of the Annunciation was founded in 1256 and rebuilt after the fire in 1270. The church is one of the oldest Gothic hall churches in the country. Today the former monastery is owned by the town and is used as the venue of occasional concerts. The monastery also includes publicly accessible monastery garden.<ref>{{cite web |title=Franciscan Church and Monastery|url=https://visitcheb.cz/pamatky/kostely-klastery/97?lang=en|publisher=Visit Cheb|access-date=2023-03-24}}</ref>

The monastery of the order of [[Poor Clares]] with the Church of Saint Clare was founded at the end of the 13th century next to the Franciscan monastery. In 1707–1709, it was demolished and built again according to the design of [[Christoph Dientzenhofer]]. The monastery was abolished in 1782 and the buildings served various purposes.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kostel sv. Mikuláše|url=https://pamatkovykatalog.cz/klaster-klarisek-s-byv-kostelem-sv-klary-14884939|publisher=National Heritage Institute|language=cs|access-date=2023-03-24}}</ref>

The [[Dominican Order|Dominican]] monastery with the Church of Saint Wenceslaus was built in 1294–1296. The monastery was badly damaged and the church destroyed during the Thirty Years' War. The new Baroque church was built in 1674–1688. The monastery was dissolved in 1950. The church is still in use, the convent now serves cultural purposes.<ref>{{cite web |title=Dominikánský klášter s kostelem sv. Václava|url=https://pamatkovykatalog.cz/dominikansky-klaster-s-kostelem-sv-vaclava-15301047|publisher=National Heritage Institute|language=cs|access-date=2023-03-24}}</ref>

The early Baroque pilgrimage complex Maria Loreto was founded in the village of Starý Hrozňatov (today just Hrozňatov). It was founded next to the Church of the Holy Spirit, which dates from 1557. It belongs to the most visited pilgrimage sites in the country. The complex was built in 1664 and extended in 1675–1683. The [[Stations of the Cross]] that leads to Maria Loreto was originally composed of twenty-nine stations.<ref>{{cite web |title=Loreta|url=https://www.pamatkovykatalog.cz/loreta-153259779|publisher=National Heritage Institute|language=cs|access-date=2023-03-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Loreta Starý Hrozňatov – poutní areál Maria Loreto|url=https://www.kudyznudy.cz/aktivity/loreta-stary-hroznatov|publisher=CzechTourism|language=cs|access-date=2023-03-24}}</ref>