The beginnings of the Rožmberk nad Vltavou village are linked with the castle having the same name, which was the residence of the Lords of Rosenberg in the 13th century. This branch of the southern-Bohemian Vítkovec family raised it to the status of a serfdom town. Unfortunately, documents depicting the life in the town during the Gothic and Renaissance periods were lost.

On the 11th of May 1653, the town was engulfed by a disastrous fire, which burnt down most of the houses as well as all the municipal books and old documents. In all likelihood, House No. 78 probably did not escape the fire either. In May 1636, a new register was established, which contained a separate folio for each house, describing its proprietary status before and after the fire. Unfortunately, the records are incomplete due to transfers of property among relatives. In 1652, this house was acquired by Antonín Schuech through marriage to Kateřina, a widow who owned the house with her previous husband before the fire. In 1653, the couple exchanged houses with Hans Weinwurm. In 1664, Weinwurm voluntarily had his property appraised and the price of the house, excluding land, was reported as high; 938 gold coins. Towards his life’s end, Weinwurm obviously lacked money for the proper maintenance of the house, which he acquired in ruins. That is why he sold it to Urban Neuman, a gentry’s clerk, for a mere 260 gold coins in 1694. Urban Neuman reconstructed the house. The municipal records show that a permit to lead water into the house was granted at the turn of the century. The following entry, dated 13 March 1705, reports the expansion of the house by an additional strip of land including buildings, which was purchased from a neighbour. In 1707, the house as well as the entire homestead, which – as a whole – the City Council had appraised at 1 600 gold coins, was bequeathed to the widow Sofie,after whom the house was inherited, under the same conditions, by her son Florián Neuman in 1721. He, however, sold the house, including all the fields, equipment, and livestock to Šebestián Wolf in 1725. The sales price was 2 000 gold coins. However, the house was paid for by Šebestián’s brother Bartoloměj from Vienna. After Bartoloměj died, the house passed onto the widow as a universal heir in 1754. Later, the house was awarded back to Šebestián, who paid 1 000 gold coins, in instalments, to the widow for it.

In 1751, Šebestián Wolf, who was already a member of the City Council, sold the house, including a baker’s licence and the garden, to his son-in-law Jan Holler for 1 800 gold coins. Holler sold the house, including a room reserved for Wolf’s retirement, to Josef Resch for the same price in 1755. Nevertheless, Mr. Resch soon died and the house passed, through marriage, to Václav Grinn. Due to bad financial management he, too, was forced to sell the house. He sold it to František Sandböck, a burgomaster, for 1 350 gold coins in 1783. Based on Sandböck’s last will, the house was inherited, in 1797, by his son Adalbert, who exchanged it immediately after his father death for another house with Jan Holler. The records show that Holler made minor constructional modifications in the house. In 1838, Holler sold the house, without any references, to Josef and Alžběta Tröster, who renovated the building and converted it into the “At the Golden Cross” inn. In 1869, the house was transferred to the couple’s younger son Josef and his wife Karolína for 3 000 gold coins.

After the German owners were forced to move out, the building remained empty and idle. Even though it was granted the status of a protected monument in 1951, it was neither utilized nor maintained. As evidenced by documents dating from 1956, some efforts were made to use the house for tourism purposes. The Ministry of Culture and the State Monument Administration allocated a sum of CZK 100 000 for the reconstruction of the house. However, the money never arrived and the house continued to decay. In 1981, a renovation project was planned, which unfortunately did not take place either.

In the 1970s, a private person from Czech Budějovice attempted to renovate the building. He wanted to use it as a weekend house for himself and his family. No repair or reconstruction took place, though.

The next and – to date – the last owner is IC Rožmberk nad Vltavou, spol. s r.o. (limited-liability company), which purchased the house in 1994. The building was reconstructed on the basis of preserved photographs and documents from the period when the Tröster family owned it.

The current owners of house No. 78 continue the Tröster family’s tradition. Named “Hotel Růže”, the house serves as a period hotel and restaurant.