The Cheb Museum

The Cheb Museum was established by a decision of Cheb’s Municipal Council in January 1873. It was opened to the public in mid-May 1874, thus becoming one of the oldest regional museums in Bohemia. Initially, the museum occupied humble premises in a part of Pachelbel’s House, in a building where the General of Imperial Forces Albrecht of Wallenstein was murdered in February 1634 and which is one of the oldest yet best preserved medieval structures in Cheb’s main square. From the very start, the museum functioned as a specialized historical museum that was inseparably associated with the tragic death of the Duke of Frýdlant. At present, the Cheb Regional Museum, with its approximately 100,000-piece collection, plentiful documentation funds on the history of the Cheb Region, and a vast study library ranks amongst the most important museum institutions in Bohemia. Its permanent museum expositions are annually enriched with several collection and art exhibitions. The museum’s expert activities also involve cooperation with the Conserved Landscape Areas Český les and Slavkovský les. These organizations are concerned in the arrangement of regular professional excursions to remarkable natural locations in our region, as well as in the realization of a cycle of travel lectures, “From Cheb in All Directions.”

Among the most important exhibits of the Cheb Museum are the belongings of one of the greatest generals of the Thirty Years’ War – Duke Albrecht von Wallenstein. He was a nobleman, Bohemian military leader, and Catholic, and he was murdered inside Pachelbel House, now the home of the Cheb Museum, on the 25th of February, 1634. By the time of his death, he was one of the most influential figures in the Holy Roman Empire.

Approximately 100 years after the murder, Cheb’s citizens realized that they could profit from this tragic event. The town council agreed and began collecting items connected to Wallenstein. During the 18th century, many paintings were made and then sold to important visitors to Cheb. The popularity of the town was increasing and peaked at the end of the 1700s, thanks to the trilogy of dramas about Wallenstein, by the author Friedrich Schiller (Wallenstein’s Camp,The Piccolomini, Wallenstein’s Death).

For more information about the Karlovy Vary Region, from which this museum comes, click here and here.