The oldest house in the Czech Republic, in Prague and in Brno
The oldest known village house in the Czech Republic is a log house from Mirkovice, built of timber felled in the winter of 1422/1423, though it no longer stands. In Prague, the best preserved Romanesque house is the Palace of the Lords of Kunštát and Poděbrady from the 12th century. Where you can see the oldest houses and what is legend.
Czech heritage records · the oldest houses
Short answer: the oldest known village house in the Czech Republic is a log house from Mirkovice in the Český Krumlov region. The timber for its main room was felled in the winter of 1422/1423, during the Hussite Wars. The house was dismantled in 2013–2014, however, and no longer stands.
In Prague, the best preserved Romanesque house is the Palace of the Lords of Kunštát and Poděbrady in Řetězová Street, from the second half of the 12th century. In Brno, the oldest secular building is the 13th-century Old Town Hall.
“The oldest house in Prague”, “the oldest house in the Czech Republic”, “the oldest log house”: search engines often answer these questions confidently and wrongly. Sources mean three different things by “house”. The oldest surviving dwelling in a town, the oldest secular building of any kind (anything but a church, including a town hall), or the oldest house whose timber we can date to the year by dendrochronology.
We relied on academic articles by the National Heritage Institute, the websites of towns and sites, and news reports on new finds. Where sources disagree, we say so.
The oldest house in the Czech Republic: the log house from Mirkovice (1422/1423)
At Mirkovice near Český Krumlov stood farmstead No. 1 with a log-built main room. Dendrochronological analysis in 2013 showed that its timber was felled in the winter of 1422/1423. In three articles published between 2013 and 2022, experts of the National Heritage Institute therefore call it the oldest known village house in the Czech Republic, or the oldest known surviving vernacular building. It was built during the Hussite Wars. The authors consider a link with Hussite raids in the area, but that is only a hypothesis.
Before that, the log rooms of village houses at Saky near Kladno and Vitějovice near Prachatice, from the 1490s, were considered the oldest. Mirkovice beat them by some seventy years.
Why you cannot see it: in 2012 the Ministry of Culture removed heritage protection from the residential part of the house, and in 2013–2014 it was dismantled. The timber is stored in the depository of the museum in Klatovy, which runs the open-air museum at Chanovice. According to a 2022 article in the journal Památky, re-erecting it is unrealistic. Beware of claims found online: the house is not on display at the Chanovice open-air museum. In Mirkovice only the Gothic granary of the same farmstead remains.
Prague: Romanesque houses beneath the Old Town
Beneath the streets of Prague's Old Town lie dozens of Romanesque houses, 63 to about 70 depending on the source. Most date from the second half of the 12th and the first half of the 13th century. Their original ground floors are now cellars, because the ground level of the Old Town was gradually raised. According to guides, it was a defence against floods from the Vltava.
The best preserved of them is the Palace of the Lords of Kunštát and Poděbrady at Řetězová 222/3. Its Romanesque part dates from the second half of the 12th century, and the original ground floor survives with a three-part hall, small-ashlar masonry, remains of two fireplaces and vaults. It is the only building in Prague with Romanesque features on the first floor as well. It is named after George of Poděbrady, who according to Wikipedia rebuilt it in the 15th century. No source literally calls it “the oldest house in Prague”, though; it is described as the best preserved Romanesque secular building.
What you can see: the Romanesque ground floor and first floor on guided tours run by Prague's tourist board (prague.eu). Another 12th-century Romanesque hall is part of the tour of the Old Town Hall underground, which we cover in our article The oldest town hall in the Czech Republic.
The oldest house on Old Town Square?
There is no single answer. The name mentioned most often is the Stone Bell House. Prague's tourist portal calls it one of the oldest and most remarkable monuments in Prague. Czech Wikipedia and prague.eu date it to the second half of the 13th and first half of the 14th century, while English Wikipedia dates the tower-like corner only to around 1310. The house is first mentioned in writing in 1363. One hypothesis says Charles IV may have been born here in 1316, but that is not documented. The house lost its Baroque facade during the re-Gothicisation of 1975–1987, and since 1988 it has hosted exhibitions of the Prague City Gallery.
Brno: the town hall is the oldest, but a 13th-century house was found underground
In Brno the oldest secular building is the 13th-century Old Town Hall, a National Cultural Monument since 1 July 2024. According to Wikipedia it grew out of a stone house with a tower; it served as the town hall until 1935. 173 steps lead up to its viewing gallery. More about it, the Brno Dragon and the crooked pinnacle is in our article The oldest town hall in the Czech Republic.
No source names an “oldest town house in Brno” that still stands and can be visited. But there is a fresh discovery. In autumn 2025, during construction of the Janáček Cultural Centre in Veselá Street, archaeologists uncovered a 13th-century masonry house with a well-preserved ground floor, including a toilet. Novinky called it one of the first masonry buildings in Brno and a Central European heritage rarity. Its fate is still being decided: options discussed have included covering it with concrete, a glass floor, and preserving parts of the walls in an exhibition. It is not yet open to the public, but a 3D model exists.
Plzeň, Liberec and Cheb
Plzeň: the Teplá House at Zbrojnická 6 (No. 114), a two-storey Gothic terraced house, is considered the oldest house in the city. It is named after Teplá Abbey, which owned it from 1501. Its date is uncertain: both 1288 and the late 13th century are given, and according to the building historian Jan Anderle the rib vault on the ground floor may be later. The facade dates from 1884.
Liberec: the Wallenstein Houses of 1678–1681 were long considered the oldest houses in the city. According to the city's tourist portal and Seznam Zprávy, however, an older log house in Františkov from 1656–1658 is the oldest surviving house in Liberec.
Cheb: the striking Špalíček on the square is a group of eleven originally Gothic houses built on the site of 13th-century merchants' and butchers' stalls. Sources do not call it the oldest house in the country, though.
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Table: the oldest houses in the Czech Republic
| House | Date | Evidence | What you can see |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palace of the Lords of Kunštát and Poděbrady, Prague | 2nd half of 12th c. | building survey | Romanesque ground and first floor |
| Romanesque houses of the Old Town, Prague | 2nd half of 12th – 1st half of 13th c. | archaeology | cellars, Old Town Hall underground |
| Old Town Hall, Brno | 13th c. | written sources, survey | tower, portal, dragon |
| House beneath the Janáček Centre, Brno | 13th c. | archaeology (2025) | nothing yet, 3D model |
| Stone Bell House, Prague | 2nd half of 13th – 14th c. | survey (dates differ) | Gothic facade, exhibitions |
| Teplá House, Plzeň | perhaps late 13th c. | style (uncertain) | Gothic house, 1884 facade |
| Mirkovice No. 1 (log room) | 1422/1423 | dendrochronology | dismantled, in storage |
| Saky, Vitějovice (log rooms) | 1490s | dendrochronology | – |
| Log house in Františkov, Liberec | 1656–1658 | heritage survey | exterior |
| Wallenstein Houses, Liberec | 1678–1681 | – | half-timbered houses |
Bonus: the oldest wooden structure in the world is Czech
It is not a house, but it makes a good quiz question. In 2018, during construction of the D35 motorway, a Neolithic well was found near Ostrov in the Chrudim region. Scientists at Mendel University in Brno dated its timber to 5256–5255 BC, and according to Radio Prague and the daily E15 it is the oldest wooden structure in the world.
Quick facts for quizzes and school projects
- The oldest known village house in the Czech Republic comes from Mirkovice in the Český Krumlov region. The timber for its log room was felled in the winter of 1422/1423.
- The Mirkovice house no longer stands: it was dismantled in 2013–2014 and its timber is stored by the museum in Klatovy.
- The best preserved Romanesque house in Prague is in Řetězová Street: the Palace of the Lords of Kunštát and Poděbrady.
- Beneath Prague's Old Town lie dozens of Romanesque houses whose ground floors are now cellars.
- Brno's Old Town Hall is the city's oldest secular building and a National Cultural Monument since 2024.
- 173 steps lead to the viewing gallery of the tower of Brno's Old Town Hall.
- The oldest house in Liberec is a log house in Františkov from 1656–1658, not the Wallenstein Houses.
- The oldest wooden structure in the world is a Neolithic well from Ostrov near Chrudim, from 5256–5255 BC.
Trip ideas
Romanesque Prague: combine a tour of the Palace of the Lords of Kunštát and Poděbrady in Řetězová Street with the Old Town Hall underground. In one afternoon you will walk through Romanesque ground floors that now lie below street level.
Vernacular buildings: since you cannot see the Mirkovice house, visit the open-air museum at Chanovice or another open-air museum where log houses still stand.
We do not list opening hours or admission prices because they change. You will find them on prague.eu, gotobrno.cz and the websites of the individual sites.
More Czech heritage records
- The oldest town hall in the Czech Republic
- The oldest town in the Czech Republic
- The oldest castle in the Czech Republic
- The largest castle in the Czech Republic and the world
- The largest chateau in the Czech Republic
- The oldest church in the Czech Republic
- The oldest synagogue in Europe and the oldest monasteries in the Czech Republic
- The oldest bridge in the Czech Republic
- The oldest brewery in the Czech Republic
All records in one place: Czech heritage records.
ENDFrequently asked questions
What is the oldest house in the Czech Republic?
The oldest known village house is a log house from Mirkovice in the Český Krumlov region, built of timber felled in the winter of 1422/1423. It was dismantled in 2013–2014, however, and its timber is stored by the museum in Klatovy. No source gives a national record for a town house.
What is the oldest house in Prague?
The best preserved Romanesque house is the Palace of the Lords of Kunštát and Poděbrady in Řetězová Street, from the second half of the 12th century. Beneath the Old Town lie dozens of other Romanesque houses whose ground floors are now cellars.
What is the oldest house on Old Town Square?
There is no clear answer. The Stone Bell House, dated to the second half of the 13th to the first half of the 14th century, is named most often.
What is the oldest house in Brno?
The oldest secular building in Brno is the Old Town Hall from the 13th century. In 2025 archaeologists uncovered a 13th-century masonry house beneath the Janáček Cultural Centre, but it is not yet open to the public.
What is the oldest house in Plzeň and Liberec?
In Plzeň, the Teplá House at Zbrojnická 6, a Gothic house perhaps from the late 13th century. In Liberec, a log house in Františkov from 1656–1658.
What is the oldest wooden structure in the world?
A Neolithic well from Ostrov near Chrudim, whose timber scientists at Mendel University dated to 5256–5255 BC.
Information from academic articles of the National Heritage Institute (Průzkumy památek 2013 and 2014, Památky 2022), Czech and English Wikipedia, prague.eu, gotobrno.cz, Kudy z nudy, Novinky, Seznam Zprávy, Brno Daily, the University of West Bohemia, E15, Radio Prague and the Liberec tourist portal; disputed figures are marked in the text. Photographs from Wikimedia Commons. Lead photo: Romanesque ground floor of the Palace of the Lords of Kunštát and Poděbrady, Octopus moldavicus, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
