Plzen pronounced Pilsen, is located south-west of Prague and is the commercial, cultural and largest centre in Western Bohemia. Pilsen is known worldwide for Pilsener Beer which was developed here in the mid 19th century and still produces the original Pilsner Urquell Beer from its local brewery. The city is also home to the University of West Bohemia and a major industrial centre, due mainly to the heavy machinery factories of Skoda. Today however Pilsen is also a popular tourist destination with people attracted not only to the Pilsner Urquell Brewing Museum but also for the historic town centre which offers numerous well preserved buildings. The city is well supplied with shopping centres, sports facilities and entertainment services, and also offers a plethora of restaurants, pubs, clubs and wine bars which are scattered all over town. Already a busy city, the university draws over 18,000 students into the community which helps to create a vibrant, active and youthful social scene.
The heart of the old town of Pilsen is recognized for its historical value and has been carefully preserved since 1989. The most prominent building is the 13th century Gothic styled St Bartholomew’s Cathedral, the very slim spire of which is the highest in the Czech Republic at just over 100 metres. The old town also includes the beautiful Renaissance styled Town Hall which was constructed between 1554 and 1559, and which dominates the north side of the square. In addition the city includes numerous medieval houses, stone portals and a 20 kilometre network of medieval, underground, multi-storied tunnels which descends to a depth of 12 metres. These ‘cellars’ were originally constructed in the 13th century and were dug for the preparation and storage of foods, and for the use as malt-houses, wine cellars and water wells. Digging carried on over several hundred years only finishing in the 19th century. Part of the tunnel network is open to the public for viewing and provides displays and exhibits from the 14th and 15th centuries and includes methods of construction. Another tourist attraction is the Moorish-Romanesque style Great Synagogue which was constructed in 1892 and which is the second largest in Europe. The sheer size of this building is an indication of the rich Jewish community, which unfortunately was decimated during World War II.
Pilsen is one of the best known towns in the Czech Republic due primarily for its brewery which makes the original, world famous Pilsner Beer. It has however always been an important and busy centre as it stands at the juncture of two European trade routes, and is today home to an estimated 165,000 residents which makes it the fourth largest city in the Czech Republic. It was here in 1295 that King Wenceslas II decreed a town should be built and called ‘New Plzen’, at the confluence of four rivers, the Radbuza, Mze, Uhlave and the Uslava which all meet to form the Berounka. The new town was to be open and spacious, and was designed around a square, now known as the Square of the Republic, and consists of a chessboard matrix of roads which became an example of high Gothic urbanism, and which generally still forms the old town centre.
|