Houses No. 4 and 6 in Znojemská Street
Bernard and Marie Mahler with their son Gustav came to Jihlava from Kaliště near Humpolec in the autumn of 1860. They settled on the first floor of the apartment building in Brtnická Street No. 265 (today Znojemská No. 4). The origins of the burgher house can be traced back to the 15th century. During the Neo-Classical reconstruction it was apparently raised by a second floor and fitted with a historicizing facade. In 1861, Bernard Mahler opened a tavern on the ground floor and was engaged in the production and sale of brandy, sweet liqueurs and Rosoglio.
Due to the favorable financial situation, Bernard Mahler bought the neighbouring house No. 264 (today Znojemská No. 6) in 1872. He started to live there with his large family after the reconstruction in the middle of 1873. They lived on the first floor. There was a bar on the ground floor, a distillery, a warehouse and stables in the courtyard. Young Gustav lived in the house until 1875, when he went to study at the Vienna Conservatory. After the death of his parents in 1889 he sold the house. The building is still used for housing purposes. Since 1958, both houses with preserved Renaissance vaults have been listed as important heritage buildings.
After World War II, the house in Znojemská No. 4 was confiscated as a German property and in 1949 transferred to the ownership of the city and then the state. From 1953 to the early 1990s it belonged to the Jihlava company Moravské kovárny and was used as a hostel.
After the house was returned to the property of the town, the building was reconstructed during the 1990s with the help of the Czech-German Society of Gustav Mahler House and the town of Jihlava. Since 2001, the house has been run by the Municipal Library and it served mainly for exhibition purposes. In 2006, the permanent exhibition Young Gustav Mahler and Jihlava was installed here.
The Gustav Mahler House has been operated by the municipal organization since July 2008 and after the reconstruction of the gallery and exhibition rooms, it was reopened to the public in September 2009. The exhibition presents the Jihlava stage of Mahler's life and the coexistence of Czechs, Germans and Jews in Jihlava. There is also a mini-exhibition dedicated to the sculptor Jan Koblasa and his work on the statue and park of Gustav Mahler in Jihlava, as well as works of the designer and fashion designer They Weltner, a native of Jihlava.
On the facade of the house, there is a memorial plaque by academic sculptor Milan Knobloch, which was unveiled on June 19, 1960 on the occasion of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Gustav Mahler. It reminds us that the composer lived in houses No. 4 and 6 between 1860 - 1875.
