Mydlářovský dům House

The Soap Maker's House on Břetislavova street in Chrudimi bears the name of Matěj Mydlář, a wealthy chandler and soap manufacturer. A Gothic house originally stood here. Mydlář purchased it in 1571 from Markéta, the widow of a townsman named Jan Con. Inspired by his travels through Italy, he generously rebuilt it in Renaissance style between 1573 and 1577. The builder is unknown. He most likely came from Italy, although some scholars consider the possibility of a Prague master. The decoration of the loggias was indeed identical to the Melantrich House in Prague, which was demolished in 1895.

The house has three stories. Two are adorned with loggias featuring five arches on Tuscan columns. The third gallery was originally also made of sandstone, but at the beginning of the 19th century it was replaced with a wooden one for structural reasons. The first floor contains reliefs of figures. The standing ones represent piety, justice, prudence and strength, while the reclining ones represent peace, war, love, honesty and power. Beneath them are corbels supporting a jester's head, a bull, an owl, a deer, a rose and the letters IHS. Above the doorway is a New Testament quotation: God is love, whoever abides in love abides in God and God in them. It is complemented by the date 1573 and the initials of Matěj Mydlář.

The ground floor, called the mázhaus, served for commerce and beer serving. The right to brew beer was granted to Chrudimi in the 14th century by Charles the Fourth and remained valid until 1869. Any full-fledged townsman with a house within the city walls could brew beer. That is why there were around one hundred ten breweries here in the 14th century. That beer was served in the house was announced by a wooden sign protruding in front of the door. In the ground floor there is also a former well. During the Renaissance renovation it was filled in and became a pit more than nine meters deep. In 1954 it was excavated and iron objects, tiles and ceramics from the 14th to 17th centuries were found in it. The Gothic cellars are partially hewn into the rock. They preserved bricks called buchty, yellow medieval mortar and impressions of wooden formwork.

In 1577 Matěj sold the house to his eldest son Daniel. He added a double tower topped with a minaret by the end of the 16th century. The towers were called an observatory, which is why it is believed they served for star observation. However, no source has confirmed the legend about a stay by the astrologer Tycho de Brahe.

The Mydlář family finally lost the house in 1765. It became the property of the city in 1952. Since 1972 it has housed the Museum of Puppet Cultures. Its collections are based on the private collection of puppeteer Jan Malík. Today the museum holds around fifty thousand collection items, including over eleven thousand puppets from around the world.