In Budějovice
Alšova jihočeská galerie — Wortnerův dům
Pěšky 14 min · Autem 9 min
Wortnerův dům is the exhibition hall of Alšova jihočeská galerie. You do not come for a permanent display but for what is on now, so check the programme beforehand. The building itself is worth attention: with battlements and corner turrets it looks more like a small fortress than a burgher's house.
Wortnerův dům in U Černé věže looks with battlements and turrets more like a small fortress than a town house. It arose in the mid-16th century by joining two houses that until 1506 belonged to the Budějovice Jewish community — the community the town wiped out in the winter of 1505. Today it is a gallery hall; inside remain Renaissance beam ceilings soaked in bull's blood.
Practical details
- Pěšky 14 min · Autem 9 min
- Opening hours: denně 10:00–18:00, prodej vstupenek končí půl hodiny před zavírací dobou
On site
The house is unmissable in the street: a high attic with battlements and turrets, like a fortress among ordinary façades. In the wall is a side window to the street — residents once watched for danger. On the ground floor you can see where the connecting passage ran between the two original houses; the entrance hall was called mázhaus and handled goods. From the mázhaus you reach a courtyard with a well.
Inside are preserved wooden beam ceilings from the Renaissance, perhaps Gothic. The beams are massive, likely oak, soaked in bull's blood for durability. Look up for stucco, small vaults and ceiling decoration in the shape of a sun or eight-petalled rose.