Pilsen is one of the largest Czech cities, known primarily as a center of mechanical industry and the seat of the country's largest brewery Pilsner Urquell.
Pilsen was founded in the 13th century and developed very quickly as an important point on the trade route. Local merchants created multi-level cellars under their houses in which transported goods were stored. This resulted in an unusual maze, whose fragments are still available in the form of an underground route. The importance of Pilsen as a shopping center in the Middle Ages is also emphasized by its huge market, one of the largest in Central Europe. There are many historic tenement houses from various periods and a Renaissance town hall, but the most important building here is the Gothic cathedral of St. Bartholomew, from whose tower you can admire the panorama of the area.
From the beginning of the city's existence, several dozen breweries operated in it. In the mid-nineteenth century, city authorities forced local brewers to merge into one brewery, which they controlled, which led to the establishment of the Pilsner Urquell plant. In Pilzno you can visit the buildings of the old brewery, the Brewing Museum and the so-called New Brewery, where beer was produced until the mid-twentieth century.
In the nineteenth century, Pilsen experienced a period of industrial development, associated with the creation of mechanical factories, including those belonging to the designer Emil Skoda. Many Jews came to the city at that time, the souvenir of which is the Neo-Roman Great Synagogue, where concerts and exhibitions take place today. During the interwar period, the wealthiest representatives of this community worked the famous architect Adolf Loos, who created modernist apartments and flats, some of which have survived to this day.
