Pilsen (or Plzen) is a city in western Bohemia in the Czech Republic. It is the capital of the Plzen Region and the fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic.
Pilsen is located about 90 km west of Prague at the confluence of four rivers which form the Berounka River. The city is known world wide for the Pilsener Beer.
HISTORY OF PILSEN
Pilsen was first mentioned as a castle in 976, as the scene of a battle between Duke Boleslaus II of Bohemia and Emperor Otto II.
It became a town in 1295 when King Wenceslaus II granted Pilsen its civic charter and established a new town site, located some 10 km away from the original settlement, which is the current town of Stary Plzenec. It quickly became an important town on trade routes leading to Nuremberg and Regensburg; in the 14th century, it was the third-largest town in Bohemia after Prague and Kutna Hora.
During the Hussite Wars, it was the centre of Catholic resistance to the Hussites: Prokop the Great unsuccessfully besieged it three times, and it joined the league of Romanist nobles against King George of Podebrady. In 1468, the town acquired a printing press; the Troyan Chronicle, the first book published in Bohemia, was printed on it.
Emperor Rudolf II made Pilsen his seat from 1599-1600. During the Thirty Years' War the town was taken by Mansfeld in 1618 after the Siege of Plzen and it was not recaptured by the Imperialists until 1621. Wallenstein made it his winter-quarters in 1633. The town was unsuccessfully besieged by the Swedes in 1637 and 1648.
At the end of the 17th century, the architecture of Pilsen began to be influenced by the Baroque style. The historic city center has been under historic preservation since 1989.
On May 6, 1945, at the very end of World War II, Pilsen and Western Bohemia were liberated from Nazi Germany by General Patton's 3rd Army; the rest of Czechoslovakia was liberated from German control by the Soviet Red Army. Patton withdrew a few days thereafter, in accordance with the agreements of the Allies. The Communist regime ensured that this liberation of Pilsen and Western Bohemia by the U.S. troops was mentioned fleetingly, if at all. There was, however, a bronze plaque commemorating the liberation by the US 3rd Army near the town center. Since 1990, the city has organized a yearly Liberation Festival taking place in May, which has already become a local tradition, and has been attended by many allied veterans.
In 1953, the totalitarian, Soviet-oriented Czechoslovak government launched a currency reform. This decision caused a wave of discontent throughout the society, while the events in Pilsen were more intense.
TOURISM IN PILSEN
The most prominent sights of Pilsen 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 third largest synagogue in the world (after those of Jerusalem and Budapest). There is also an historic underground tunnel/cellar network open to the public for tours, up to three levels deep running under parts of the Old Town.
Pilsen is also well-known for the Pilsner Urquell (since 1842) and Gambrinus (since 1869) breweries, currently owned by South African breweries. The pilsener style of beer, based on Pilsner Urquell, was developed in Pilsen in the 19th century.
EDUCATION AND ECONOMY
Pilsen is a center of academic, business, and cultural life for the western part of the Czech Republic. The University of West Bohemia in Pilsen is quite 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.
Pilsen produces approximately two-thirds of the Pilsen Region GDP, even though it contains only 29.8% of its population. Based on these figures, the city of Pilsen has a total GDP of approximately $7.2 billion, and a per-capita GDP of $44,000. While part of this is explained by commuters (people who work in the city, but live elsewhere) it is one of the most prosperous cities in the Czech Republic.
The Skoda company, established in Pilsen 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, and Sardinia) and Skoda Power (turbines).
Many foreign companies now own manufacturing bases in Pilsen including Daikin and Panasonic. There has been much discussion of redeveloping those large areas of the Skoda plant which the company no longer uses.
Pilsen also has the biggest brewery (Pilsner Urquell) and the biggest destillery (Stock) in the Czech Republic.
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Pilsen is located about 90 km west of 
HISTORY OF PILSEN
