Plzen
This west Bohemian metropolis with its 170.000 inhabitants is the
fourth biggest town of the Czech Republic. It extends over an area
of a former watch castle, which was founded in the 10th century. A
pre-Romanesque St. Peter´s Rotunda, which is located in Stary
Plzenec, dates also from that period. A new royal town was founded
on a chessboard plan, (what was the feature of an advanced Gothic
urbanism) north of the castle area on the junction of four rivers:
Uslava, Uhlava, Radbuza and Mze at the end of the 13th century.
The church tower of the St. Bartolomej´s Cathedral, which is
the highest one in the Czech Republic (a height of 103 m), dominates
the town.
Also the Plzen underground is worth to mention. A network of
vaults was built here in three floors in the Middle Ages and later.
It ranks along with the underground rooms in Jihlava and Znojmo among
the largest ones in the Czech Republic.
A nobly town hall and a number of citizen houses and stone portals
represent the Renaissance period. The episcopate building,
which was designed by the significant architect Jakub Auguston, is
one of a number of baroque sights. |
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Plzen - Places of Interest:
Brewery Museum
Pilsner Urquell Brewery
Historical Underground in Plzen |
