Perhaps we would not have gotten here if we had not vacationed in Karlovy Vary. By the way, tourists often wonder where to go from Karlovy Vary - here is one of the travel points for you. Firstly, all travel agencies in the city offer excursions to Cheb, and secondly, it’s only half an hour away by rented car. It’s very close, why not go?!

Cheb - amazing city, the feeling that it is frozen in time and you seem to be transported centuries ago. The city has largely felt the German influence, especially being in the city center it seems as if you are in Germany, but in fact the Czech speech brings you back to reality and you understand that you are in the Czech Republic. They say that local residents still divide themselves into Czechs and Germans.

The city itself was built in the 8th-9th century by Slavic tribes as a border fortress, then the city more than once came under the rule of the Germans, then the Czechs, was part of Austria-Hungary, and after the First World War it finally became part of what was then Czechoslovakia.

The central square of the city is built around the perimeter of Gothic houses with red tiled roofs, tightly pressed against each other. And the colorful and variegated colors of the houses give the city a festive touch.

Arriving in the city, you immediately feel that you are in the province - it is quiet, calm, and leisurely. In cafes with open terraces, people drink beer quietly, there is no fuss, only tourist groups meet from time to time.

And considering that we were previously in Regensburg, Germany, and its border location with Germany, there are many Germans in the city and German speech is heard more often than Russian and Czech. In general, there is a feeling of some kind of contrast - Germany in the Czech Republic in Czech.

The most important attraction of the city is the vault of Gothic buildings from the 13th century. It is also called Shpalicek.

This is a complex of 11 colorful houses owned by Jewish merchants.

The houses are pressed closely to each other, and they are separated by a narrow street. This is what cities looked like in the 13th century. And the passage between the houses is about 1.5 m wide.

There are doors on both sides of the building, and despite its antiquity, people still live here.

I can imagine how much the house is saturated with the smell of old age, but nevertheless, they knew how to build before.

This complex of buildings simply captivates with its toy-like appearance. I walked around it, and being already fascinated by these houses, I simply fell in love with the windows decorated with flowers.

The whole city creates the impression of coziness and comfort, and the windows decorated with love fill the city with warmth.

The spiritual center of the city is the Church of Saints Nicholas and Elizabeth. The church was built in the 13th century in the Romanesque style, but after a fire in 1742, it was reconstructed in the Gothic style. The building has two towers, the sharp peaks of which reach towards the sky.

And at the foot there is a circular staircase leading to the cathedral, and decorated with statues of saints.

Near the church, life seems to have completely died out; I haven’t met a single person here. The silence around makes my ears whistle.

I'm back again central square, it just attracts you here like a magnet.

And once again I am convinced that autumn gives its charm to cities, its colors, special lighting, crumbling leaves on the asphalt. How beautiful it all is! I will probably never get tired of admiring every claptic of our beautiful land.

The unusual city of Cheb is located. It has a rich history and unique architecture. The settlement developed for a long time under the influence of German culture, so its appearance resembles a typical German town.

General information

If you look at a map of the Czech Republic, you can see that Cheb is located on the border with Bavaria. This is the oldest border line in Europe, which was created in the 15th century. The city is located at an altitude of 459 m above sea level, and the Ohře River flows through it. It covers an area of ​​96.37 square meters. km. The number of local residents is 33,060 people.

The ethnic composition of the population is divided into Czechs and Germans; Ukrainians, Gypsies and Vietnamese also live in the city. The latter's diaspora is the largest in Europe. On the streets of Cheba patrols a large number of police. This is due to the fact that drugs and prostitution are widespread here like nowhere else in the Czech Republic. The city has enterprises producing motorcycles, bicycles and agricultural machinery. Local residents are employed in textile factories, as well as in tourism and trade.

Historical facts

The city was first mentioned in 807, when it became part of the East Frankish Kingdom. In the 11th century, this territory belonged to the Holy Roman Empire. In 1061 the settlement received its modern name and was subordinate to the German Emperor Henry IV.

There was constant fighting for Cheb. It suffered greatly during such European battles as:

• Hussite War in 1419 and 1434;
• the Swedish invasion, which occurred in 1631 and 1647;
• the battle for the Austrian succession, which lasted from 1740 to 1748.

Also, for several centuries, Germany considered these lands to be its own and called them Egerland. In 1938, Hitler captured the city, and after the end of World War II, all Germans were expelled from the territory of Cheb. Their number exceeded 80% of the total population.

Weather in the city

A moderately warm climate prevails here. The average annual air temperature is +8 °C, and the precipitation rate is about 600 mm. Most often it rains in July (76 mm). This month is also the hottest, the mercury stays at +22 °C.

In winter there is minimal precipitation, with February considered the driest (32 mm). The minimum air temperature is observed in January and is -3 °C.

What to see in the city of Cheb?

The settlement has preserved historical and architectural structures that were erected in the 12th-13th centuries. The ancient buildings are overgrown with legends and traditions, attracting tourists from all over Europe. Photos taken in Cheb will remind you of this for a long time unusual city Czech Republic.

On the streets of the village you will get acquainted with the history of the country, see the ruins of ancient fortifications, monuments dedicated to famous personalities, and battle sites described in many books. The most popular in the city of Cheb in the Czech Republic are:

Where to stay?

There are more than 10 establishments in Cheb where you can relax. There are guest houses, boarding houses and apartments, equipped in ancient buildings. Guests are provided with transfer, internet, tea and barbecue facilities, sauna, massage room and bicycle rental.

The restaurants serve traditional and international dishes. The rooms are equipped with a private bathroom and cable TV. The most popular establishments are:

• Hotel Barbarossa 4*;
• Penzion Cafe Na Svahu;
• Soukromý pokoj ve vile.

Where to eat?

If you get tired while exploring the city of Cheb and want to eat, then pay attention to such catering establishments as:

• U Krale Jiriho – restaurant with a European menu;
• Gelateria Corso – they cook here;
• Bar Incognito is a bar serving beer and traditional snacks.

Shopping in Cheb

In the village there is a large bazaar called Asia Dragon Bazar. Mostly Vietnamese people trade here. They sell inexpensive Chinese goods, which attract not only Czechs, but also residents of neighboring countries with their price.

In the city of Cheb in the Czech Republic there are also various shops, for example, GaVu Che. You can buy unique and essential goods there.

Transport

The city also has a railway junction. You can get from Moscow to Cheb by train, which departs from Kievsky railway station. Travel time depends on the classification of the train and takes from 35 to 45 hours.

From Cheb you can take bus number 100 and FixBus, direction RegioJet. They depart from the Prague Florenc bus station. You will spend about 3 hours on the road. If you decide to drive yourself by car, then take highways No. 6 or 16.

From Cheb you can get to famous resort, the distance is 45 km. Settlements It is connected by the E48 highway, along which regional buses run.

Cheb is the most western city Czech Republic

Cheb is the westernmost city in the Czech Republic

Cheb is the westernmost city of the Czech Republic, located in the Karlovy Vary region on the Ohře River near the German border. The German way of life is still felt here. This couple, or rather a handful, are simply amazing! :) The walls of the orange house are convex, as if it were not a house, but a magic lantern :) And this handful has a name - “Spalicek”, 16th century. These are former German-Jewish shopping arcades, which now house a cafe and several shops.

In Cheb, as in other Czech cities and towns, you can often find houses with their own names. There are especially many such houses in Prague in the historical part. For example, in Prague's Lesser Town, almost every house has its own individual sign (the coat of arms of the house with the name). Knowledgeable people they say that until 1770, Prague houses did not have numbering, so each owner came up with a name and symbol for his house... What beautiful names - “At the Mother of God and Child”, “At the Three Swords”, “At the Merry Toad”, “At a beautiful mug”, “At the golden snake”, “At the three wise men”, “At the black rose”, “At the fat lamb”, etc., etc...

Fountain of Knight Roland on the Market Square. Fountain of Knight Roland (Kašna rytíře Rolanda) in the central square of Cheb. The fountain was decorated with a statue of the knight Roland, who symbolized the market rights of the imperial cities. Now there is a sandstone copy created by the sculptor Zhivny in 1985. The original statue is in the Cheb Museum.

Cheb is located near Karlovy Vary and Marianske Lazne.

Cathedral of St. Nicholas (St. Nicholas)

The most attractive place in ancient city Chebe (Czech Republic) is a quarter of old curved half-timbered houses SPALIČEK. (XV century)

home Town Square was formed in the 12th century (at that time it was called “market place”), today it is built up with beautiful mansions, mainly from the 17th century, with steep red-tiled roofs. It was this cobblestone square that was for eight centuries the commercial and political heart of Egerland (German Egerland, Czech Chebsko), a historical region in northwestern Bohemia. It is easy to guess that this name comes from the name of the Ohře River, which was also known to the Celts under the name Agara ("salmon"). Well, the city itself was founded in the 8th-9th centuries by Slavic tribes as a border fortress, then occupied by the Germans and more than once came under the rule of the German Kaiser, then Czech kings, then Austria-Hungary, and only after the First World War it finally became part of what was then Czechoslovakia.

Cheb- a town 40 km southwest of Karlovy Vary. Included in the list world heritage UNESCO. The main attraction is the colorful old houses surrounding the central square of Cheb. Around the square there is a small grid of the same ancient cobbled streets.

If Karlovy Vary is a Russian city, then Cheb is the patrimony of the German burghers. The street speaks and screams exclusively in German. Menus and signs are only in German and Czech. The service staff does not understand Russian in principle. Because of this, I spent an extra hour at the Cheb station, as I missed my train. Well, it’s impossible to come to an agreement with the Czech woman at the cash register!

I have already said that Czech railways are the most Soviet railways in the world. Train and bus timetables have either been disrupted since the Velvet Revolution, or are so indigestible that month-long courses need to be held to study the logic of these strange scraps of paper. Buses and trains in the schedules are indicated to some godforsaken stops and you need to have an excellent knowledge of Czech geography to guess, for example, that the route “Ash-Khomutov” is actually “Heb-Karlovy Vary”.

There is no decent map anywhere on the walls, nothing is indicated on the ticket, the lady at the ticket office is silent, like a partisan. The maximum that can be squeezed out of it is the departure time. And then, with a ticket in your hands and the treasured number in your head, you begin to study in detail all the pieces of paper stuck on the walls. Oh, so many of them! If you're lucky, you'll find a similar flight in small print somewhere in the middle of one of the scraps. If you're unlucky, you'll be jumping on platforms, trying to figure out which train/bus is yours.

By the way, the main Prague bus station Florenc is a song! Such a wretched establishment could only be seen somewhere in Nizhny Tagil during the era of glasnost and perestroika in the late 80s.

However, further about Hebe. The city is German. The city is cheap. And it seems that poor Germans are coming here en masse for the weekend to relax, eat and buy clothes from local Czech-Vietnamese merchants. The Vietnamese generally form a very noticeable trading stratum in the Czech lands. Even in the westernmost region of Cheb, they accept and process the main flow of Euros from the German buyer. The Czechs are sleeping at this time. Funny: Czech city where the Vietnamese are pushing Chinese clothes onto the Germans. Why the Czechs are needed at this crossroads of Europe and Asia is generally unclear. Renovate the scenery or something...

Looking at the border Cheb, you understand that even the most pro-Western Czech Republic is still much closer to Russia than to Europe. Well, everything here is the same as in the Russian provinces! It’s worth driving a few kilometers to Germany or Austria - and life, people, situations change radically.

Frantiskovy Lazne

5 km from Cheb is the smallest resort of the famous West Bohemian spa trinity - Frantiskovy Lazne(Frantiskovy Lazne). Buses leave from Cheb station every half hour. Ticket - 12 CZK. Travel time is 15-20 minutes.

The town is small - in fact, these are hotels and villas of the 19th century, lost on a vast territory among endless parks, gazebos and springs. All buildings are painted in different shades of yellow. A dense carpet of fallen leaves rustles underfoot. The autumn atmosphere is such that it seems that Pushkin is about to come out from around the corner. The complete impression is that you are somewhere in Tsarskoe Selo, and not on the border with Germany.

The symbol of the city is the little boy Frantisek who caught a fish. They even erected a monument to him here. Judging by the polished nose and genitals, touching these places brings some kind of happiness to those suffering.

In the casino-restaurant (the most beautiful building on the edge of the park) they immediately sent us a Russian-speaking waiter. That is, they still speak Russian here. Interesting feature This restaurant has a completely glass floor under which fish swim.

By the way, this casino has very good food and even serves various desserts for free. True, I was somewhat disappointed with the wine - the cost of one glass turned out to be higher than the cost of the entire meal.

You can't hear any Russians in the city, but there is a Russian church. And just like in Karlovy Vary, this is one of the most noticeable buildings in the city. Russian churches look very harmonious in such resort towns and at the same time stand out sharply against the general background of buildings, creating a visual point of attraction. I don’t know what the results of various government projects to whitewash the image of Russia in Europe and the United States are, but Russian churches abroad, with their silent beauty and originality, have been doing the same thing steadily and effectively for many decades. It is impossible to pass by them, they cannot be ignored.

How many times have I seen this picture - multilingual tourists slowly strolling along the streets, taking out their cameras right next to Russian churches, completely ignoring the nearby luxurious villas and gloomy churches of local concessions. Our churches, these drops of Russia, are the best advertisement for the country in the world.

Near the German border there is Cheb Castle, which is one of the ancient architectural structures. The Cheb palace complex was built in the 12th century. The name of Cheb Castle comes from the bend of the Ohře River. A Slavic town was located in such a bend. These domains were ruled by Margrave Depold III Norgau. In the 12th century, he built a stone fortress that could protect the surrounding area from enemies.

Towards the end of the 12th century, the simple stone fortress was rebuilt in the Gothic style and became known as a castle. In the 14th century, the Cheb fortification became the property of the Czech state. After the war, the building was practically destroyed. But through certain time The palace complex was restored again. Today, many tourists visit Cheb Castle every year and admire the surrounding area. Local residents and guides on the territory of the tourist site tell the legend of the Devil's Tower, the spirit of the Generalissimo, and many others. On the territory of the Czech fortification, tourists can see the Black Tower, a two-story chapel of two saints Ursula and Edgard. Tourists are also attracted by the walls of the fortress, which resemble a combination of two styles: Gothic and Baroque.