PILSEN REGION
The city of Pilsen has naturally become the cultural, economic and
administrative centre of the West Bohemia. It is the fourth largest city in the
Czech Republic. Nowadays the city counts 172,000 inhabitants and is famous
mostly due to the products of Pilsen's brewery and the heavy machinery
factories Skoda.
Pilsen was in September 2010 selected by an official jury to be
put forward to join the Belgian city of Mons as the European
capital of culture in 2015.
What to see in Pilsen
The square and the Gothic St. Bartholomew's Cathedral, founded in the late
13th century, the tower of which (102.26 m / 335 ft) is the highest in the
Czech Republic. The square is used for musical and cultural events.
Renaissance city hall, the Great Synagogue
The Pilsner Urquell Brewery and Brewery Museum
In September 2009 Pilsen’s Urquell Brewery introduced a new guided tour
for school children called ‘Brewing – A Czech Industrial Success Story’. The
new tour allows visitors to learn a little about the wider context of the
brewing trade as a celebrated piece of Czech industrial prowess and the role
of Pilsen’s Urquell Brewery in the history of beer production.
Pilsen Zoological and Botanical Garden and Dinopark – beautiful
huge gardens which are located near the city centre
Pilsen Museum of Horrors- The Pilsen Museum of Horrors is located in
the basement of the Hotel Central on the Republic Square, in the very centre
of Pilsen.
Pilsen Historical Underground
In the publicly opened part of the underground you can see typical exhibits
of specialized municipal cellars from 14th and 15th centuries. Also the
methods of construction of back buildings and technical background are
shown here. Archeological finds and subjects showing everyday-life in a
medieval town are installed in this exhibition. Part of the underground was,
thanks to municipal authorities, opened for the public. In helps you to
understand the past of one of most important medieval royal towns in a very
pleasant and interesting way.
LIVING IN PILSEN
„Plzen is a beautiful city in the west of the Czech Republic less than an hour from Prague. It
is a mixture of old Bohemian buildings and modern high rises. The train station and bus
station make it easy access to the rest of the Czech Republic and everywhere in the city
centre is 10mins away by bus or tram.
The city boasts a lot museums and theatres including the historical underground museum
and brewery museum. The city has plenty of bars and restaurants of all fair, European,
American and the far east and the nightlife is always buzzing no matter want your taste or
day of the week. There is always something to do at the weekend as there is always a
festival or some excuse to eat lots of food and have a few beers.
I have always found the people very friendly even if you don’t speak any Czech they will try
their best to help, especially in the schools the teachers have always been very helpful and
greet me with smile. I enjoy living in Plzen and now think of it as my home away from
home“. Steven Allen.
Cultural Life
The Theatre of J.K.Tyl has an excellent reputation in Czech Republic. It has
three scenes and four ensembles: the play, the opera, ballet, operetta, and
the demanding dramaturgy. This theatre is said to be a transfer stop for
actors to Prague theatres, since many outstanding actors and actresses
started their successful careers here. But the theatre is not the only thing
here.
The West Bohemian Gallery is an important centre of art not only for
Pilsners but for the whole Bohemia. The gallery is situated in the Gothic
building of the former Butcher Shops. It houses interesting exhibitions of the
past and the present. Remarkable are also the collections in many
departments of the West Bohemian Museum.
The newly restored State Science Library holds almost two million books
also in Czech, English and other languages.
Events in Pilsen
The Freedom Festival in Pilsen commemorates the last days of the 2nd
World War and the liberation of Pilsen by the American Army. People come
from around the world to celebrate this significant historic event together
with the city residents, US veterans, and their family members.
Every spring the cultural festival, Smetana's Days takes place here and the
autumn is reserved for the festival of Czech film productions "Finale".
In June you can enjoy the Historical Weekend - Fairy tale mummery,
historic figures and ghosts procession.
In July and August you can visit the Theatrical Summer under the Pilsen
Sky or In the Street Festival - days full of jazz, folk, country and rock
music and theatre right in the streets of the city.
Very popular is the summer Jazz festival "Jazz on the Street" or Majales,
which is a student’s festival full of many Czech musicians and famous bands.
The most popular festival is probably the Pilsner Fest which takes place in
August and celebrates the anniversary of the first batch of Pilsner Urquell
brew. You can enjoy days full of entertainment, good food and the best beer
in the world…
Sport in Pilsen
Everybody likes to participate from time to time in activities of some kind of
sport. There are several swimming pools, tennis courts, a centre for
international competition in shooting, a stadium for athletics and soccer,
fitness centres. Since Pilsen is known for its famous cyclists, there was
also built a stadium for cycling track. In the winter you can ice skate at the
stadium.
If you want to watch some sports on TV, you can visit one of many sports
bars or go directly at the football or ice stadium and enjoy the atmosphere of
Pilsen football or hockey teams.
Restaurants, going out
There are hundreds of pubs and restaurants in Pilsen. You can have Czech,
Chinese, Indian, Italian, Spanish, French and many other kinds of dishes.
The PUB - serving non-pasteurized fresh super cold Pilsen beer from beer
tanks and typical Czech meals www.thepub.cz
Potrefena husa – excellent cuisine, seven kinds of beer and a nice
atmosphere.
Zach’s PUB – Irish Pub, you can meet many Americans and British people
here. In summer, many concerts take place in there.
Pilsen is home of the best Czech beer. A 0,5l from tank costs 30,- CZK or
even less. Average price for dinner is 150,- CZK.
If you fancy dancing and having fun, you can visit many night clubs or bars
in Pilsen. The most famous are PH club (you can hear some great DJs in
here), Mefisto, Sci-fi bar, Arena disco club, Buena Vista Club, Jazz Rock Café,
Anděl Music Bar, etc.
Accommodation
Monthly rent is around 6,000 CZK for a small flat or 3 - 4.000,- CZK per
room. We can help with finding accommodation.
Shopping
You can go into many of Pilsen’s shopping centers (Plaza, Olympia, Tesco
Stores …) and get the label clothes, shoes, gifts or food in here.
Transport
To travel round the Pilsen, you can use the public transport – buses, trams,
trolley buses. It is the easiest and quickest way how to travel in Pilsen. It
costs 400 CZK per month.
Tips for trips
New appearance of the Sts. Peter and
Paul Rotunda at Starý Plzenec
After more than 30 years in the waiting,
the pre-Romanesque Rotunda of Sts. Peter
and Paul at Starý Plzenec near Pilsen has
undergone a complete and extensive
reconstruction. This National Cultural
Monument is, according to some sources,
the oldest complete ecclesiastic monument
extant in the Czech Republic.
The chateau Kozel was founded as a
representative hunting castle in the end of
the 18th century. All the Bohemian
nobility came here for hunting. In the
middle of the 90s of the 18th century a
chapel was added, then a riding hall and
stables. The whole equipment is original mostly rococo and classical. The castle is
surrounded by an English park with over
6000 trees.
It’s easily reached from Pilsen by train within 16 minutes.
Karlovy Vary, or Carlsbad as it was formerly
known, is an important Spa. The town boomed
in the 19th century and many of the
attractions date from that period. So even if
you are not interested in thermal baths, the
town is absolutely worth a visit.
In the second half of the 19th century many
metropolitan style buildings were erected proud bathhouses and hotels, the Town
Theatre, the savings bank, the post office,
churches.
There are lookout towers, pavilions, and gazebos built in spa woods in the
town surroundings. Architectural nature of this historical period is most
strongly influenced by a pair of architects, Fellner and Helmer. Contemporary
architecture is represented by the building of Thermal Sanatorium and The
Hot Spring Colonnade.
Karlovy Vary is also home to an annual international film festival and is the
origin of Becherovka, a locally-made liqueur with reported health benefits.
Karlovy Vary is accessed by a coach within 1,5 hour, 85,- CZK per single
ticket.
Plzeň is located 80 km southwest of Prague (the country's capital) in the
Czech Republic and can be easily accessed by frequent buses (every 30-60
min). The journey takes 60 minutes. The price of one way ticket to Prague Zlicin is 95 CZK.