Cheb

Cheb - Eger - was an imperial free city and part of the Holy Roman Empire's direct territory rather than of Bohemia for much of the Middle Ages, pledged to the Bohemian crown only in 1322 and keeping a distinct legal status long after, which is why it looks and feels different from other Czech towns. The castle is an imperial Pfalz begun under Frederick Barbarossa, and its chapel is the piece to see: a double chapel of about 1220 with a lower level of heavy Romanesque piers and an upper level of slender early Gothic columns, connected by an opening so the two spaces read together. In the market square stands Spalicek, a block of eleven narrow medieval merchant houses crammed together with a lane through the middle. Wallenstein was assassinated in the town in 1634; the house is the museum.

What you actually see

• A Romanesque double chapel - heavy piers below, slender Gothic columns above.
• An imperial Pfalz - the castle begun under Barbarossa, not a Bohemian foundation.
• Spalicek - eleven narrow medieval houses in a block with a lane through it.
• The Wallenstein house - where the general was killed in 1634, now the museum.

When to go

April to October. A day.

Honest expectations

The castle is a partial ruin and seasonal. Museums close on Mondays. Parts of the town outside the square are run-down. The German border area has a poor local reputation for street trade - stay in the centre.

Nearby

Frantiskovy Lazne and Soos are north; Marianske Lazne is south.