2 Best Sights in Western Bohemia, Czech Republic

Chebské muzeum

The building that houses this museum is just as interesting at its collection; it's known as the Pachelbel House, the setting for a murder during the Thirty Years' War. In 1634, General Albrecht von Wallenstein was executed in this house on the orders of Habsburg emperor Ferdinand II. He was provoked by Wallenstein's increasing power and rumors of treason. According to legend, Wallenstein was on his way to the Saxon border to enlist support to fight the Swedes when his own officers barged into his room and stabbed him through the heart with a stave. Wallenstein's stark bedroom has been left as it was with its four-poster bed and dark red velvet curtains. (The story also inspired playwright Friedrich Schiller to write the Wallenstein trilogy; he planned the work while living at the top of the square at No. 2.) The museum is also interesting in its own right, with a Wallenstein family picture gallery, a section on the history of Cheb, and a collection of minerals (including one discovered by Goethe). There's also the stuffed remains of Wallenstein's horse.

Nám. Krále Jiřího z Poděbrad 4, Cheb, Karlovarský, 350 11, Czech Republic
601--122--664
Sights Details
Rate Includes: 100 Kč, Closed weekdays in Jan. and Feb., Mon. and Tues. in Mar., Apr., and Oct.–Dec., and Mon. May–Sept.

Mětské muzeum

A fascinating peek into spa culture is housed in this small museum, just off Národní ulice. There's a wonderful collection of spa-related antiques, including copper bathtubs and a turn-of-the-20th-century exercise bike called a Velotrab. The guest books provide insight into the cosmopolitan world of pre–World War I Central Europe. The book for 1812 contains the entry "Ludwig van Beethoven, composer from Vienna." Texts are in Czech and German, but not English.