"Cheb / Eger" Cheb by german_eagle

Cheb Travel Guide: 39 reviews and 77 photos

Castle

Cheb (German: Eger) is located close to the German border and althought it's been a part of Bohemia/Czechia since 1315 the overwhelming majority of the people living here until 1945 were of German nationality or Jews. The sad history of the 20th century is well known: The Nazis killed most of the Jews and after 1945 the Czech government expelled the Germans. Which left a sort of Ghost town; Czechs from other parts of the country only very slowly moved to the town. Nowadays the population is about 30,000 (compared to 40,000 in 1945) and many of them are gypsies - Cheb is one of the towns where the related problems in everyday life are most obvious in the Czech Republic.

"Stöckl" houses

The old town is picturesque but by far not as much is restored as in Prague or other hot spots of Czech tourism. To me the town had a sort of gloomy appearance. Shops are often cheap "Asian markets", restaurants didn't look (or smell) appealing. Outside the old town it's mostly dull apartment blocks from the communist era in decay.

It's quite a tough job for a tourist to overlook the current problematic conditions in the town and explore the sights - which the town definitely has. I thought a day trip was enough.

Intro Updated Oct 8, 2011
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Reviews (8)

Be careful when taking photos! Warnings Or Dangers (1)

Something totally unexpected happened when I took a photo of the St. Bartholomew church (see pic). The young guys -... more travel advice

Franciscan monastery garden, entrance - Cheb

Franciscan monastery garden Things to Do (7)

Maybe you're more lucky than I was - the beautiful garden was closed when I was there although according to the... more travel advice

Church of former Dominican monastery Things to Do (7)

St. Vitus, the church of the former Dominican monastery, is located a few steps west from the main parish church St.... more travel advice

St. Nicholas church Things to Do (7)

St. Nicholas is the main parish church of Cheb. The oldest parts - western portal and lower storeys of the towers - date... more travel advice

Travelogues (1)

Written Oct 8, 2011

8 photos

Old Town impressions

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Comments (6)

Nemorino Jan 3, 2012 at 11:44 AM Report Abuse

Somehow I never realized that Waldstein and Wallenstein were the same person. Also I never knew that Schiller went to Eger to do research for his play. Too bad the town now has such a gloomy appearance.
balhannah Dec 7, 2011 at 1:23 AM Report Abuse

This looks quite a nice town, thanks for sharing!
bugulma Oct 29, 2011 at 4:31 AM Report Abuse

interesting town, especially I like Stockl quarter.
yumyum Oct 21, 2011 at 9:37 AM Report Abuse

The old center looks quite lovely. I'm surprised those guys just didn't come up and ask for money because you took the picture. Surely, they should be able to distinguish between a local and a tourist.
HORSCHECK Oct 17, 2011 at 4:05 AM Report Abuse

Ingo, lovely page with gorgeous tips. You were obvisouly quite lucky with the weather, which is probably very important for such a day trip. A pity that the gypsies cause problems with the very few tourists.
Kathrin_E Oct 9, 2011 at 8:56 AM Report Abuse

Looks like a beautiful little town in the photos. However, it is good to know about the problems that a visit might involve.