Pilsen

Basic information

The intoxicating taste of genuine Pilsen beer, Pilsner Urquell, is only one of the reasons why tourists from all over the world are coming to Pilsen. And the other reasons? First of all, the plentiful cultural life and live history of the city which visitors can see everywhere they go.

The city, founded in 1295 by the king Wenceslaus II. became the natural, cultural and commercial center of West Bohemia owing to its advantageous geographical location. The importance of the city was constantly growing, but it was only in the 19th century when two companies were founded which made Pilsen known worldwide – the engineering company Skoda and the brewery Plzensky Prazdroj. Pilsen, with a population of 170,000, is today the fourth biggest city of the Czech Republic and is also a favorite tourist destination thanks to attractive monuments in the city and its surroundings.                           

The capital of West Bohemia is a sovereign city boasting with number of historic monuments. Among them definitely rank the 13th century St.Bartholomew´s Church with its height of 102,26 m, this tower is the highest church spire in Bohemia), Renaissance town hall reconstructed by Italian master-builder Giovanni de Statia in the mid 16th century, the unique Brewery Museum, the historic underground with medieval cellars, Franciscan monastery and the Church of St Anna. All these sites make up a part of the original checker board ground plan of the historic downtown, which was declared a historic town reservation in 1989.

Pilsen is also considered a center of education. Besides a number of elementary and secondary schools, Pilsen is the home of the University of West Bohemia and the Medical Faculty of the Charles University.                                                        .
           

Pilsen has the perfect location for exploiting many interesting sites in the Czech Republic, but also in the western Europe. It takes only about an hour drive to visit Prague, in the same time you reach in the opossite direction the boarders of Germany (about 3 hours drive to Munich). In an hour you can also visit famous Czech spa triangl of Karlsbad, Marienbad and Franzensbad. Not far away is southern Bohemia with beatiful scenery and several Unesco listed sites.

In the last years the city has been taking step by step a new, more attractive face and wishes to be an appeal "entry gate" on the passage from West Europe.   

All these facts, together with very competitive prices compared to Prague or western Europe make Pilsen an excellent place to spend your holiday at.        

Plzensky Prazdroj Brewery gate

Pilsen - Burger´s House