burgher's house Burgher house

Townhouse in the village Banská Štiavnica, located in Banská Bystrica region, is a Renaissance building from the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries. It is registered by the Monument Office of the Slovak Republic under number ÚZPF 11868.

In the Middle Ages, burgher houses were mostly wooden, while brick buildings were owned by solvent owners. The typology of houses depended on the material used, the method of heating, property status of the owner and defence needs. Among the types were tower houses, which formed a defense system, chamber houses with simple longitudinal floor plan, hall houses and houses with passage. A specific type was a house with height, which had a reduced attic for storing grain or goods.

In the 17th and 18th centuries the nobility rebuilt its houses into city palaces with landscaped front courtyards and staircases. In the 19th century there were rental houses and pavilion houses with a four-wing block and a central courtyard.

Townhouses in Banská Štiavnica are characteristic of their position in the steep terrain configuration. From one side can be three to four floors, while the last floor is also the ground floor in the back alley. The cellars are dug into the rock subsoil and some are walking into the galleries.

The house on Andrej Kmeťa Street number 5 is the end corner object in micronámestie. It represents the type of townhouse from the late Renaissance and Baroque period. The building maintains the original urban situation with communication route and side communication. It has preserved the overall expression and ground plan-space composition, although the architectural concept of the facade has been partially changed by modification of the parter.

The housing function has been preserved in these houses to this day. The building provides insight into the historical urbanism and architecture of Banská Štiavnica.