Schirnding → Cheb

Market square and Špalíček

The medieval Špalíček is a compact group of eleven houses divided by the narrow Kramářská Lane. The blocks grew from 13th-century market and butcher stalls, with stone lower floors and later half-timbered upper storeys. Across the square, the St Nicholas Church contributes twin pointed towers to the old-town skyline.

Imperial castle

The Cheb Castle began as a Romanesque imperial palatine under Frederick Barbarossa in the 12th century. Its unusual double chapel joins Romanesque and early Gothic spaces, while the Black Tower, built from dark basalt, is the oldest surviving castle structure. The cluster sits close enough to the centre to connect the town’s merchant and imperial histories on foot.