CZECH REPUBLIC : PLZEN
Plzen
(pronounced : Pilzen) is a city in the Czech Republic in western
Bohemia, the capital of Plzen Region. With a population of more than 165
000 it is an important cultural, economic, transport, commercial and
industrial center, known primarily for the products of Plzener brewery
and Skoda works.
The Czech King Wenceslas II founded the city on the confluence of
the Radbuza and Mze rivers in 1295 , only 9 kilometers north-west of the
original Old Plzen.
Plzen was the centre of Catholic resistance to the Hussites during the
socalled Hussite wars;; it was three times unsuccessfully attacked by
Prokop the Great, and it took part in the league of the Romanist lords
against King George of Podebrady. During the Thirty Years' War the town
was taken by Mansfeld in 1618 (see Battle of Pilsen) and not recaptured
by the Imperialists till 1621. Wallenstein made it his winter-quarters
in 1633. The town was unsuccessfully besieged by the Swedes in 1637 and
1648.
Plzen, like every other occupied city, suffered greatly during the
course of World War II and its once prosperous and successful Jewish
community was decimated. The years of Soviet oppression that followed
did little to revive the fortunes of either, but following the Velvet
Revolution of 1989 the city and its resident Jews have bounced back and
are ushering in a brand new era.
Plzen
is also considered a center of education. Besides a number of elementary
and secondary schools
Plzen
is the home to the
University
of West Bohemia and the Medical Faculty of the
Charles University.
The eventful history of the city can be seen during the sightseeing
of many interesting buildings. The historical city centre, is dominated
by the slim tower of the Gothic St. Bartholomew Cathedral. With its
height of 102,26 m (335 feet), this tower is the highest church spire in
Bohemia.
The whole range of important buildings is an evidence for the era
of great boom in the city on the turn of last two centuries.
