Only a few blocks from the famous
Pilsner Urquell brewery, the Plzen Brewery Museum offers the opportunity for a
self guided tour though nearly 700 years of brewing tradition in the Plzen
region. An English guidebook is available to explain the 12 formal tour stops.
First on hand are old drinking vessels and bottles. Next, a pub is
reconstructed to show drinking conditions from hundreds of years ago.
Construction is very rugged, with ashtrays and restrooms noticably absent. On
display is a brewhouse of the past with brewing vessels hundreds of years old.
The trek through the three stories of exhibits offers a look into the art of
barrel-making, a critical in-house skill needed in the early days. Some
elaborate exhibits and wall-mounted displays advise that no cameras are
allowed. Early laboratory equipment is shown, with most labels in Czech,
German, and English. One stop features brewing documents dating back to 1307!
One room displays glass beer steins and steel beer signs, while another offers
beer calendars from the 1890's. A cellar features authentic lagering tanks
embedded in the earthen walls with reinforced brick arches overhead. Prior to
refrigeration technology, ice was placed above the lagering
vessels.Open daily from 10 AM to 6 PM, the Brewery Museum offers insights
into the brewing world of Plzen, Bohemia, and Central Europe. Souvenirs are
available, with prices very competitive to elsewhere in
town.
Reviewed by Tom Ciccateri - September, 1999
Plzen Brewery Museum
Pivovarské
Muzeum PLZEN
Veleslavínova 6
301 14 Plzen, Czech Republic
Tel.
019/722 4955 Fax 019/723 5574
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