Where Pilsner was born — the original brewery, Art Nouveau streets, and the first city liberated by the US Army
Plzeň (Pilsen) is the fourth largest city in the Czech Republic and one of the most important in European brewing history: Pilsner Urquell was first brewed here in 1842, creating the world's most imitated beer style. The original Pilsner Urquell Brewery is still operating and gives the most atmospheric brewery tour in Europe, descending into sandstone cellars where unfiltered, unpasteurised beer can only be tasted on-site. The city has an Art Nouveau Old Town, a functioning synagogue that is one of Europe's largest, and every May it re-enacts its 1945 liberation by General Patton's Third Army.
Plzeň was founded in 1295 at the confluence of four rivers and grew as a trade city. In 1842, the Citizens' Brewery hired Bavarian brewer Josef Groll, who combined local soft water, Saaz hops, and Moravian barley malt to create a clear golden lager — previously all beer was dark and cloudy. The style spread across the world as Pilsner (or Pils) and became the template for the vast majority of the world's commercial beers. Plzeň's other historical distinction is being the only major Czech city liberated by the Western Allies in WWII — General Patton's troops arrived on May 6, 1945.