Plzen / Pilsen

The most prominent sights of Plzen are the Gothic St. Bartholomew's Cathedral, founded in the late 13th century, the tower of which (102.26 m / 335 ft) is the highest in the Czech Republic, the Renaissance Town Hall, and the Moorish Revival Great Synagogue in Pilsen, the second largest synagogue in Europe, after the Dohany Street Synagogue in Budapest. There is also a 20 km historic underground tunnel/cellar network, among the longest in Central Europe. Part of this network is open to the public for tours of approximately 750 metres in length and up to a depth of 12 metres.

Plzen is also well-known for the Pilsner Urquell (since 1842) and Gambrinus (since 1869) breweries, currently owned by South African Breweries. A popular tourist attraction is the Plzensky Prazdroj brewery tour where visitors can discover the history of beer. The pilsener style of beer was developed in Plzen in the 19th century.

Plzen is a centre of academic, business, and cultural life for the western part of the Czech Republic. The University of West Bohemia in Plzen is well known for its School of Law, School of Mechanical Engineering and School of Applied Science in particular.

Since the second half of the 1990s the city has experienced high growth in foreign investments. In 2007, Israeli mall developer Plaza Centers opened the Pilsen Plaza, a 20,000 square meters shopping mall and entertainment center featuring a multiplex cinema from Cinema City Czech Republic.

Plzen produces approximately two-thirds of the Plzen Region GDP. It is one of the most prosperous cities in the Czech Republic. The Skoda company, established in Plzen in 1859, has been an important part of the Austro-Hungarian, Czechoslovak and Czech engineering. The company's production had been directed to the needs of the Eastern Bloc, and after the Velvet Revolution, it consequently ran into selling problems and debts. After huge restructuring process it has just two principal subsidiaries: Skoda Transportation (locomotives, tube-trains or trams, since sold to Portland, Tacoma, Seattle and Sardinia) and Skoda Power (turbines). Many foreign companies now own manufacturing bases in Plzen including Daikin and Panasonic.