Plzeň
Plzeň, also known in English and German as Pilsen, is a city in the Czech Republic. It is the fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 188,000 inhabitants. It is located about 78 kilometres west of Prague, at the confluence of four rivers: Mže, Úhlava, Úslava and Radbuza, together forming the Berounka River.
Imagem: Alessia Cross · BY-NC · Openverse
Plzeň consists of ten self-governing boroughs. In addition, Plzeň consists of 25 municipal parts, whose borders do not respect the boundaries of boroughs (in brackets population according to the 2021 census):
Imagem: LenDog64 · BY-ND · Openverse
Plzeň is located about 78 km (48 mi) west of Prague. The city is situated at the confluences of four rivers: Mže, Úhlava, Úslava and Radbuza. From the confluence of the Mže and Radbuza, the river is known as the Berounka. Plzeň lies mostly in the Plasy Uplands, with small parts of the municipal territory extending into the Švihov Highlands to the east and south. The highest point is the hill Chlum at 416 m (1,365 ft) above sea level. The lowest point is the river bed of the Berounka at 293 m (961 ft). The largest body of water is the České údolí Reservoir, built on the Radbuza. A system of fishponds is located on the northern edge of the city.
Climate
Plzeň has a cool and temperate Oceanic climate (Cfb). The average annual precipitation is 525 mm (21 in). The annual average temperature is 8.4 °C (47.1 °F). The extreme temperature throughout the year ranged from −28.0 °C (−18.4 °F) on 12 February 1985 to 41.5 °C (106.7 °F) on 4 August 2026.
Imagem: Eva Haunerová · BY · Openverse
Middle Ages
The first written mention of Plzeň Castle is from 976. The city of New Plzeň was founded nearby in 1295 by King Wenceslaus II. The old settlement then became known as Starý Plzenec and New Plzeň became known as Plzeň. It quickly became an important city on trade routes leading from Bohemia to Nuremberg and Regensburg. The first written mention of beer brewing is from 1307. In the 14th century, the city had about 3,000 inhabitants on an area of 20 ha (49 acres), making it the third largest city in Bohemia after Prague and Kutná Hora. During the Hussite Wars, it was the centre of Catholic resistance to the Hussites: Prokop the Great unsuccessfully besieged it three times, and it joined the league of Catholic nobles against King George of Poděbrady. In the 1470s and 1480s, the city had the first printing press in Bohemia. The first book printed here and therefore the oldest book in Bohemia is Statuta written by Arnošt of Pardubice, which was printed in 1476.
17th century
Emperor Rudolf II made Plzeň his seat from 1599 to 1600. During the Thirty Years' War, the town was taken by Mansfeld in 1618 after the Siege of Plzeň, and it was not recaptured by Imperial troops until 1621. Wallenstein made it his winter quarters in 1633. Accused of treason and losing the support of his army, he fled the town on 23 February 1634 to Eger/Cheb, where he was assassinated two days later. The town was increasingly threatened by the Swedes in the last years of the war. The city commander Jan van der Croon strengthened the fortifications of Plzeň from 1645 to 1649. Swedish troops passed the town in 1645 and 1648 without attacking it. The town and region have been staunchly Catholic despite the Hussite Wars.
19th century
In the second half of the 19th century, Plzeň, already an important trade centre for Bohemia, near the Bavarian/German border, began to industrialise rapidly. In 1869 Emil Škoda founded the Škoda Works, which became the most important and influential engineering company in the country and a crucial supplier of arms to the Austro-Hungarian Army. By 1917, the Škoda Works employed over 30,000 workers. After 1898, the second largest employer was the National Railways train workshop, with about 2,000 employees: this was the largest rail repair shop in all Austria-Hungary. Between 1861 and 1877, the Plzeň railway junction was completed, and in 1899, the first tram line started in the city. This burst of industry had two important effects: the growth of the local Czech population and of the urban poor. After 1868, the first Czech mayor of the city was elected.
World War II
Following Czechoslovak independence from Austria-Hungary in 1918, the ethnic German minority in the countryside bordering the city of Plzeň hoped to be united with Austria and were unhappy at being included in Czechoslovakia. Many allied themselves to the Nazis after 1933 in the hope that Adolf Hitler might be able to unite them with their German-speaking neighbours.[citation needed] Following the Munich Agreement in 1938, Plzeň became a frontier town as the creation of the Sudetenland moved Nazi Germany's borders closer to the city's outer limits. During the German occupation from 1939 to 1945, the Škoda Works in Pilsen was forced to provide armaments for the Wehrmacht, and Czech contributions, particularly in the field of tanks, were noted. The Nazis operated a Gestapo prison in the city, and a forced labour camp in the Karlov district.
Communist era
After the 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état, the government launched a currency reform in 1953, which caused a wave of discontent, including the Plzeň uprising. On 1 June 1953, over 20,000 people, mainly workers at the Škoda Works, began protesting against the government. Protesters forced their way into the town hall and threw communist symbols, furniture and other objects out of the windows. The protest caused a retaliation from the government, which included the destruction of the statue of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, the first president of Czechoslovakia. The statue has since been re-erected.[citation needed]
Imagem: sludgegulper · BY-SA · Openverse
Plzeň is a centre of business in the western part of the Czech Republic. Plzeň produces about two-thirds of the Plzeň Region's GDP, even though it contains only 30% of its population. While part of this is explained by commuters to the city, it is one of the most prosperous cities in the Czech Republic. Plzeň is the seat of many large corporations. The largest employers with their headquarters in Plzeň and at least 1,000 employees are: The Škoda company, established in Plzeň in 1859, has been an important element of Austro-Hungarian, Czechoslovak and Czech engineering, and one of the biggest European arms factories. During the Communist era of the country (1948–1989), the company's production had been directed to the needs of the Eastern Bloc. Disarray in the era after the Velvet Revolution, and unsuccessful efforts to gain new Western markets, resulted in sales problems and debts. After a huge restructuring process, the company was divided into several subsidiaries, which were later sold. The most important successor companies are Škoda Transportation and Doosan Škoda Power.
Pilsner beer
Plzeň is well known for the Pilsner Urquell (since 1842) and Gambrinus (since 1869) breweries, currently owned by Asahi Group Holdings. Plzeň is an important city in the history of beer, including the development of Pilsner. In 1375, Bohemian King Charles IV endowed the Dobrow Monastery near Plzeň with the beer right, and it is one of the oldest breweries to survive to modern times. Many breweries were located in the interconnected deep cellars of the city. The officials of Plzeň founded a city-owned brewery in 1839, Bürger Brauerei (Citizens' Brewery, now Plzeňský Prazdroj), and recruited Bavarian brewer Josef Groll (1813–1887) who produced the first batch of modern Pilsner beer on 5 October 1842. This included mastering the art of triple decoction mashing. The combination of pale colour from the new malts, Plzeň's remarkably soft water, Saaz noble hops from nearby Žatec (Saaz in German) and Bavarian-style lagering produced a clear, golden beer which was regarded as a sensation. Improving transport meant that this new beer was soon available throughout Central Europe, and Pilsner Brauart-style brewing was widely imitated.
Imagem: sludgegulper · BY-SA · Openverse
Trams, trolleybuses and buses
The Plzeň metropolitan area is largely served by a network of trams, trolleybuses and buses operated by the PMDP. Like other continental European cities, tickets bought from vending machines or small shops are valid for any transport run by the city of Plzeň. For residents of the city, a Plzeň Card can be purchased and, through a system of "topping up" be used on any public transport with no limitations, as long as it is paid up and valid. Tickets can be purchased in vehicles with a contactless smart card.
Rail
The main railway station, Plzeň hlavní nádraží, is an important centre of Czech railway transport, with the crossing of five main railway lines:
Road
The most important transport link in the city is the D5 highway connecting Prague and Nuremberg.
Air
Plzeň is served by the Plzeň Líně Airport, which is a public domestic and private international airport. It is located southwest of Plzeň, just outside of the territory of Plzeň and named after the municipality of Líně. Václav Havel Airport Prague, is also located 89 km (55 mi) which is an hour drive north east of Plzeň.
Imagem: Jirka Dl · BY-SA · Openverse
Since 31 May 1993, Plzeň has been the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Plzeň. The first bishop (current bishop emeritus) was František Radkovský. The current bishop is Tomáš Holub. The diocese covers an area with a total of 818,700 inhabitants.[citation needed] The diocesan see is in St. Bartholomew's Cathedral on Republiky Square in Plzeň. The diocese is divided into 10 vicariates with a total of 72 parishes. The seat of the West Bohemian seniorate (literary presbytery; Central European protestant equivalent of a diocese) of Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren is currently set in Plzeň. There are two other parish congregations of the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren in the Plzeň-City District – The Western congregation of the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren in Plzeň, known as The Western congregation, located in the Western part of the city in the borough of Jižní předměstí, and The Congregation of the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren in Chrást, located in Chrást in the very east of Plzeň-City District.
Imagem: Náměstí Republiky - panoramio (6).jpg: Mister No (Panoramio) Plzeň Cathedral of Saint Bartholomew-0146.jpg: Isiwal Rathaus-pilsen.jpg: Matthias Süß Pilseno, la Granda Sinagogo, 30.jpeg: Aisano Plzeň TechMania hala 2.jpg: VitVit Pomnik kopeckeho.jpg: Pablo.czech Nové divadlo v Plzni 03.JPG: Hadonos Plzeň, brána, čelní pohled (2).jpg: Jan Polák Pilsen-Water Tower.jpg: Tamorlan · BY-SA · Openverse
The University of West Bohemia was founded in Plzeň 1991. It comprises nine faculties and has approximately 12,000 students. The Faculty of Medicine in Pilsen, Charles University (Czech: Lékařská fakulta v Plzni Univerzity Karlovy) is one of the five medical faculties of Charles University. It has about 2,000 students. Martin Luther Primary School (Základní škola Martina Luthera) is a private Christian school of the Czech Evangelical Lutheran Church in Plzeň.
Imagem: philip.bitnar · BY · Openverse
Plzeň was a European Capital of Culture in 2015, along with Mons in Belgium.
Imagem: Petr Novák · BY-SA · Openverse
The ice hockey club HC Škoda Plzeň plays in the Czech Extraliga. The team plays its home games at Logspeed CZ Aréna. The football club FC Viktoria Plzeň plays in the Czech First League and belongs among the most successful clubs in the Czech Republic. Viktoria Plzeň has played in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The team plays its home games at Doosan Arena. Handball club Talent Plzeň plays in the Czech Handball Extraliga. The motorcycle speedway team PK Plzeň races at the Plzeň speedway track. The track has hosted significant speedway events including qualifying rounds of the Speedway World Team Cup.
