History
History of the "Old Hospital"
City Palace Krečmáry-Geramb, or the "Old Hospital" on A. Pécha Street no. 5 has a long and remarkable history, spanning five centuries. After the building of the Komorský dvor (Kammerhof), it belongs to the largest buildings of a bourgeois character in Banská Štiavnica. It is also important because it combines elements of bourgeois and noble architecture in the middle of the 18th century. Already its location approximately 100 m from the main historical square and near the landmark of Banská Štiavnica - the Old Castle, indicates its importance and the status of the owners. It went through remarkable development and extensive reconstructions from two medieval Gothic houses from the end of the 15th century, through the Renaissance reconstruction to a four-winged building with an inner courtyard and an arcade, to a Baroque and later Classicist palace, whose main features are simplicity, functionality and elegance.
The old hospital in Banská Štiavnica from the late 1950s
The oldest information from historical sources is from 1579, but in the back part of the house on the ground floor there is a Renaissance portal with the inscription 1578 and a coat of arms, so the house is certainly older. The coat of arms depicts a hammer and an iron - the symbol of mining and the letter J. It is probably the initial letter of the oldest identified owner of the town, the miner Ján (Johann) Kastner.
The Renaissance portal from 1578 is located on the ground floor in front of the rear entrance to the building. Southern
side of the square courtyard.
After the death of Ján Kastner, the city palace passed through the hands of many owners. Between the most important family to which he belonged was the family of Ján von Krecsmára. Ján Krečmári held important positions in the Comoros and city administration as secretary of the Main Comoros – of the county office, mining judge, city notary, member of the city council. The family belonged to the richest and most important in the city. In this period, the name Krečmáriovský was usedHouse. The record-makers classified it in the land book in the category waldbürgerský (mining) house – Waldbürger Haus. Houses of this category belonged to the richest strata (miners, merchants) and were located in the historic core of the city. The lower category was formed by burgher houses (craftsmen, small merchants), the lowest in the peripheral parts banícke houses (Heuer Haus).
The family acquired a large property in and around the city. They managed, for example, in the brewery vo Avoid. Later, however, Ján von Krečméri's descendants got into debt and this also affected their fate of their palace, which after settlement of debts, losses and subsequent sales came into ownership Ignatius Viktor von Geramb in 1784. Already at that time there was a part of the hospital, the owner's living quarters, an auditorium Mining Academy, library, cabinet of models, mining councilor's apartment, professor's laboratory Mikuláš Jacquin. Baron Mikuláš Jozef von Jacquin was a professor of chemistry and mineralogy at the newly founded Mining Academy (the oldest university of its kind in the world) v Banská Štiavnica - at that time the third largest city in Hungary. He was appointed on 13. June 1763, based on the decision of Maria Theresa. But before that, in the years 1754 to 1759 conducted an expedition to the Caribbean at the request of František Štefan Lorrinský a America, where he collected new plants and animals for the imperial gardens in Vienna and the castle Schönbrunn. The memorial plaque of Mikuláš Jozef von Jacquin is located on the facade of the city palace at to the right of the main gate.
Baron Mikuláš Jozef von Jacquin, painted portrait by Füger
Ignác Viktor von Geramb had it rebuilt into a classicist palace in 1785-1788 with unique murals in the rooms upstairs. The von Geramb family came from the town of Freistadt in Upper Austria, branched out over time and their family lines extended not only to Banská Štiavnica but also to Vienna and the French city of Lille. Do Around 1687, Franz Gottlieb von Geramb came to Banská Štiavnica, who worked in function of precious metals examiner in the Chamber of Mines. Of his three sons (František, Ferdinand, Ján Jozef) the last stood out. Ján Nepomuk Jozef von Geramb was the most important personality of the mining business in the 18th century. Occupation was chamber treasurer, empire- royal councilor, associate of the Main Chamber County Office, chief economic officer
inspector of smelters and mills in the entire Dolnouhorská mining area. He also founded the Gerambov Union, the largest private mining company of its time in Hungary (dissolved in 1906). Na the facade of the house still has a coat of arms dated 1778. Ján Nepomuk is buried in parish church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, and its magnificent epitaph is located in the side nave
church on the second pillar.
Coat of arms of the Gerambov Mining Union from Schopferstôlne with the celebration of its founding in 1752
In addition to mining, some members of the family became famous in the military. Son of Ján Jozef Ignác Viktor von Geramb served as a cavalry major. In several historical sources, states that the house belonged to Major Geramba (Major Gerambische Haus). After the death of Ignác Viktor von Geramba in 1788, the city palace became the property of the city, despite the fact that he had his heirs - 6 children with his wife Klára nee Rozenzwigová. Indebtedness became the probable reason for the sale. Since 1800, the hospital of St. Lawrence (Sankt Laurentii Spital). Until the year In 1891, the house was also used for the education of the Academy, and for some time the District Court with a prison was located in front. Later, at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, a more extensive internal reconstruction was carried out behind for the purpose of exclusive use for hospital purposes and was renamed Municipal Public St. Hospital Elizabeth. After February 1948, to the Hospital with Polyclinic. Since 1949, the hospital building has been included in the state health administration and its activities it functioned as a hospital until 1992.
Windows of the gynecology department, 1978
Hospital courtyard from 1955
Since then, the building fell into disrepair until restoration and construction work began on it in 2018. As of 2021, the building of the city palace has been restored again. The building is owned by several owners. Many of them had murals that were badly damaged restored at their own expense. The City Palace begins its new pilgrimage in newly restored premises, serving as a touch with history for many owners and visitors of this witness to the history of one of the most amazing cities in Slovakia.
Sources:
Čelková, Mária. Building-historical development of the Krecsmáry-Geramb building, connected with the beginnings of teaching at the mining academy in Banská Štiavnica (History, Architecture, Murals). In Vivat AcademyBanská Štiavnica 2013, p. 158-171.
Čelko, Mikuláš. House on Antona Péch Street No. 5 in Banská Štiavnica, 2017, p. 4-12.
The Internet:
https://sk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikul%C3%A1%C5%A1_Jacquin
http://karstenivan.blogspot.com/2016/06/gerambovska-rodina-v-stiavnickych.html