Dům čp. 109 Other

Husova č. p. 109 is a historically significant burgher house located on the southern side of Husova ulice in Prachatice I. It dates back to the 14th century and was later transformed during the 16th-century Renaissance. Known for its monumental street facade and arcaded attic, the building served as a German gymnasium in the 19th century. It is now a protected cultural monument within the Prachatice urban conservation area. This notable structure remains a key architectural element of the town, offering visitors a glimpse into its complex medieval and Renaissance history.

The house likely dates to the 14th century, a period when the street led directly to the square. This coincided with the economic growth and urban expansion of the Kingdom of Bohemia under the Luxembourg dynasty. The oldest surviving sections are the stone-vaulted cellars, which predate a town fire in 1501. A major Renaissance transformation occurred between 1540 and 1560. This took place during a time of great prosperity for Prachatice, driven largely by the lucrative Golden Trail salt trade between Bohemia and Bavaria.

The building resulted from the merging of two narrow Gothic houses. A prominent Renaissance redesign later shaped its current monumental appearance. Its five-axis street facade features a semi-circular diorite portal with an illusionistic border, asymmetrical window openings, and an early Renaissance cordon cornice separating the floors. The facade is covered in rough, sand-colored plaster applied with a mason's trowel, preserving medieval traditions. This is complemented by smoothed illusionistic painted details on the corner bossage, cornices, and window frames. Under the cordon cornice, a fragment of an original Latin inscription reading NISI DOMIN(...) remains visible. The roofline is crowned by a Renaissance arcaded attic with octagonal corner turrets, similar to the attic at čp. 137 v Horní ulice. Inside, the building contains vaulted Gothic cellars, ground-floor plaster vaults with lunettes, and fragments of early Renaissance wall paintings. After a town fire in 1832, a radical Classicist overhaul in the 1840s added a roof extension and partially covered the Renaissance attic. A roof attic conversion was added in the second half of the 20th century. Restoration in the 1990s successfully uncovered and reconstructed the original Renaissance facade.

Ownership and administration shifted significantly during the 19th century. Around 1864, a widow named Barbara Wimbersky donated the property for school use. From October 5, 1865, to September 27, 1897, the building housed the local German communal real gymnasium. It was inaugurated by the České Budějovice bishop Jan Valerián Jirsík. From 1871 to 1872, it was directed by the notable Czech pedagogue Gustav Adolf Lindner, after whom the building is sometimes called Lindner's House. Other associated figures include Prof. dr. Jaroslav Zdeněk, who taught there between 1865 and 1870. When the gymnasium moved to a new building on Zlatá stezka in 1897, the house became a German girls' general school. From 1950 to 1996, it served as the People's School of Art, renamed the Basic Art School in 1991. According to the Real Estate Cadastre, the property is currently privately owned.

Key documented events include the 1501 town fire, which preceded the oldest surviving cellars, and the major fire of 1832 that triggered the Classicist reconstruction. The building's educational era began with the gymnasium's opening in 1865. On May 3, 1958, the house was officially declared a protected cultural monument. An architectural curiosity is the survival of rare early Renaissance rough plaster applied exclusively with a mason's trowel, alongside the fragmented Latin inscription and the reconstructed arcaded attic.

Situated on the southern side of Husova ulice, the house is fully integrated into the historic urban fabric of Prachatice. It is a protected cultural monument valued for its complex double-tract layout, historical construction, and restored Renaissance facade. It offers a tangible connection to the town's medieval and Renaissance past. Visitors to the Prachatice urban conservation area will find this site a compelling stop to observe the layering of Gothic, Renaissance, and Classicist architecture in a single burgher house.