Plzeň, Industrial city in western Czech Republic
Plzeň is a large city in western Czechia where four rivers meet and form a broad valley at the foot of the Bohemian highlands. The center sits on flat terrain and spreads outward from the medieval old town in all directions, with wide residential neighborhoods and industrial zones along the riverbanks.
King Wenceslaus II founded the settlement in 1295 and granted it town rights and trade privileges to establish a royal stronghold in western Bohemia. The town remained Catholic during the Hussite conflicts and Catholic residents from other Bohemian towns found refuge there.
The Renaissance town hall on the main square displays sgraffito decoration and stands next to the Gothic cathedral, whose tall spire marks the skyline from any approach to the center. Small brewery pubs line the narrow streets of the old town, serving local beer straight from wooden barrels where regulars gather after work.
Trams and trolleybuses run from the main train station into the old town and connect the outlying districts, making it easy to get around without a car. The central square sits just ten minutes on foot from the station and serves as the starting point for walks through the pedestrian zone.
The Pilsner Urquell brewery opened in 1842 and introduced a completely new way of making beer that spread worldwide and became known as pilsner. Beneath the brewery lies over 12 miles (20 km) of rock cellars that once stored and fermented the beer and are now open to visitors during guided tours.
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