Cheb (Czech pronunciation:[xɛp]^ⓘ;German:Eger) is a town in theKarlovy Vary Region of theCzech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. It lies on theOhře river.

Cheb
Town
Krále Jiřího z Poděbrad Square
Flag Coat of arms Wordmark
Cheb Location in the Czech Republic
Coordinates:50°4′46″N12°22′14″E / 50.07944°N 12.37056°E /50.07944; 12.37056
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Karlovy Vary
District	Cheb
First mentioned	1061
Government
• Mayor	Jan Vrba (ANO)
Area
• Total	96.36 km2 (37.20 sq mi)
Elevation	459 m (1,506 ft)
Population  (2024-01-01)[1]
• Total	32,825
• Density	340/km2 (880/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	350 02
Website	www.cheb.cz

Before theexpulsion of Germans in 1945, the town was the centre of the German-speaking region known asEgerland. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as anurban monument reservation.

Cheb consists of 19 municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census):^[2]

The first name of the town, documented in 1061, wasEgire. It was a Latin name, which was derived from the Celtic name of theOhře RiverAgara. The German nameEger was then derived from the Latin name.^[3]

The Czech nameCheb first appeared in the mid-14th century. The name is derived from the old Czech wordheb (modern Czechoheb, ohyb), which means "bend". It is related to bends of the Ohře River.^[4]

Cheb is located about 38 kilometres (24 mi) southwest ofKarlovy Vary, on the border withGermany. The northern and western parts of the municipal territory lie in theFichtel Mountains; the rest of the territory lies in theCheb Basin, named after the town. The highest point is the hill Zelená hora at 637 m (2,090 ft) above sea level.

TheOhře River flows through the town. There are two largereservoirs in the municipal territory: Skalka (northeast of the town and supplied by the Ohře) and Jesenice (southeast of the town and supplied by theWondreb). There are also several small fishponds, especially in the southern part of the municipal territory.

Cheb has ahumid continental climate (Köppen:Dfb;Trewartha:Dclo), with average temperatures in January and February below freezing and an average temperature of 0.0 °C (32.0 °F) in December. The average summer temperature is around 17.3 °C (63.1 °F), and it is not uncommon to see days with temperatures above 30.0 °C (86.0 °F). The town enters spring in late April and winter in early October.

The earliest settlement in the area was aSlavicgord at what is now known as the Cheb Castle complex, north of the town centre.^[10] In 807 the district of today's Cheb was included in the newmargraviate ofEast Franconia, which belonged at first to theBabenbergs, but from 906 to the margraves (marquis) ofVohburg.^[11]

The first written mention of Cheb is from 1061.^[12][13]Děpolt II founded the castle on the site of the gord around 1125.^[14] In 1149, Cheb was described as a fortified marketplace. EmperorFrederick Barbarossa acquired Cheb in 1167. In 1203, it was first referred to as a town. It became the centre of a historical region calledEgerland.^[12][13]

From 1266 to 1276, the town was property of KingOttokar II of Bohemia. The historic town centre was established after the fire in 1270. KingWenceslaus II of Bohemia held the town in 1291–1304, thenAlbert I of Germany acquired the region. It wasn't until 1322 that Cheb became a permanent part of theLands of the Bohemian Crown, when KingJohn of Bohemia acquired it from EmperorLouis IV.^[12][14] The later local history was marked by continued resistance against incorporation into Bohemia.^[15]

On 5 May 1389, during aReichstag between KingWenceslaus IV and a group of Imperial Free Cities ofsouthwest Germany, theTreaty of Eger was agreed upon, after Wenceslaus had failed to secure his interests in the town.^[13] In the 15th century, Cheb was one of the largest and wealthiest towns ofKingdom of Bohemia with 7,300 inhabitants.^[12]

The town suffered severely during theHussite Wars, during theSwedish invasion in theThirty Years' War in 1631 and 1647, and in theWar of the Austrian Succession in 1742.^[11] In 1634, during the Thirty Years' War,Albrecht von Wallenstein was killed here. In 1723, Cheb became afree royal town. The northern part of the old town was devastated by a large fire in 1809, and many middle-age buildings were destroyed.^[13]

In 1757, the town's financial self-government was abolished for the sake of Austrian centralization. In 1848, the citizen's council demanded separation from Bohemia and reconstitution of itsLandtag.^[15]

The terms of the1919 Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye triggered civil unrest between theSudeten German population and the newFirst Czechoslovak Republic, just as in the rest of theSudetenland. In the interwar period, many ethnic Czechs came to the town with the boom of industry.^[12]

During theSudeten Crisis, the town was occupied by theNazi German-sponsoredSudetendeutsches Freikorps paramilitary group.^[16] On 3 October 1938, the town was visited byAdolf Hitler; shortly afterwardWehrmacht troops marched into the Sudetenland and seized control. From 1938 until 1945, the town was annexed to Germany and was administered as part of theReichsgau Sudetenland. TheGestapo andOrdnungspolizei operated a prison in Cheb, whose prisoners were subjected toforced labour.^[17] Cheb was liberated by the97th Infantry Division of theUnited States Army on 25 April 1945.^[18]

After the end ofWorld War II the region was returned to Czechoslovakia. Under theBeneš decrees andPotsdam Agreement of the same year, the German-speaking majority wasexpelled.

In 1910, only 0.5% of the population were Czech.^[19] Until 1945, it was part of theNorthern Bavarian dialect area. After World War II, due to theexpulsion of ethnic Germans and resettlement of Czechs, the population significantly dropped.

The current population includes a large group ofVietnamese people.^[22] Their families were invited to the country asguest workers during theCommunist era.^[23]

The pillars of Cheb's economy are mainly services and tourism, and there are no large companies here. The largest employer is the Town of Cheb. Only four industrial enterprises with 200–250 employees are based in Cheb:BWI Czech Republic (manufacturer of automobile parts),Nexans Power Accessories Czech Republic (manufacturer of components for conductors),Playmobil CZ (toys manufacturer), and Tritia (bakery).^[24]

Many entrepreneurs and small traders come from the large Vietnamese community. After theVelvet Revolution in 1989, the Vietnamese community gradually established seven markets here, and even customers from Germany came to Cheb for cheap goods. Today, three Vietnamese markets operate here.^[22]

TheD6 motorway fromPrague toKarlovy Vary and Cheb (part of the European routesE48 andE49) forks in Cheb and continues to the Czech-German border to the west (as E48) and to the north (as E49).

Cheb is an important railway junction. The town lies on the railway line of national importance fromFrantiškovy Lázně toPlzeň, Prague,Olomouc andOstrava. Other railway lines that pass through the town are Prague–Chomutov–Cheb,Nuremberg–Cheb,Hof–Marktredwitz,Zwickau–Cheb and Cheb–Luby. In addition to the main railway station, the town is also served by the Cheb-Skalka station.^[25]

Cheb Airport is located 3 kilometres (2 mi) east of the town centre. It is the second-oldest airport in the country and the oldest still existing.^[26]

Cheb is known for itsCheb Violin Making School.

Two faculties of theUniversity of West Bohemia, pedagogical and economic, have a detached workplace in Cheb and open study programs there.^[27]

The town is represented by the football clubFK Hvězda Cheb. It plays in the 4th tier of the Czech football system. Its predecessor was the club FC Union Cheb, which played in theCzechoslovak andCzech First League from 1979 to 1996, but then was abolished due to financial reasons.^[28] The team play at the Lokomotiva Stadium, located on streetU Stadionu.

The Lokomotiva Stadium once heldmotorcycle speedway^[29] and hosted a final round of theCzechoslovak Individual Speedway Championship for three consecutive years from 1966 to 1968.^[30]

On the rock in the northwest of the historic town centre lies Cheb Castle. It was founded around 1125 and was rebuilt into aKaiserpfalz 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.^[14]

The Chapel of Saints Martin, Erhard and Ursula is a unique Romanesque-Gothic double chapel. It is the best preserved example of theHohenstaufen architecture in Central Europe. The chapel has two storeys; the lower storey is inRomanesque style, while the upper storey isGothic. On the first floor, there are original capitals of marble columns, decorated with figurative scenes of angels with Bibles as well as lewd scenes.^[31]

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 asŠpalíček. 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 1.6 metres (5.2 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.^[32]

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.^[33]

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.^[34]

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.^[35]

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 Romanesquebasilica 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 Baroquecupola, according to the design of the indigenous architectBalthasar Neumann. The top of the twin steeples were destroyed by bombardment at the end ofWorld War II and restored in summer 2008. The church tower is open to the public as a lookout lower.^[36][37]

TheFranciscan 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.^[38]

The monastery of the order ofPoor 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 ofChristoph Dientzenhofer. The monastery was abolished in 1782 and the buildings served various purposes.^[39]

TheDominican 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.^[40]

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. TheStations of the Cross that leads to Maria Loreto was originally composed of twenty-nine stations.^[41][42]

Cheb istwinned with:^[43]

•  Bắc Ninh, Vietnam
•  Hof, Germany
•  Nová Dubnica, Slovakia

Sincethe fall of the Iron Curtain, Cheb has also had cordial relationships with the neighbouring German towns ofWaldsassen andMarktredwitz.

•  
  Historic houses on the town square
•  
  Sand Gate near the Ohře
•  
  Cheb Theatre
•  
  Gardens of the Franciscan monastery

• Madonna with St John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist (Cheb)
• Winged Altarpiece of Our Lady from Seeberg

• Official website
• Visit Cheb – Interactive encyclopedia of Cheb
• Tourist Information Centre
• Cheb Castle official website
• Euregio Egrensis(in Czech)