The tour of the Plzensky Prazdroj plant is completely barrier-free

10.6.2008

Even disabled people can now visit the Pilsen brewery

After the last technical modifications, the brewery is now completely accessible even to all disabled visitors. The tour guides are trained and equipped to be able to bring the full experience of the brewery also to persons with vision and hearing impairments, or those with mental or physical disabilities who are interested in learning about the history, ingredients and brewing of Pilsner Urquell beer.

On Saturday 14 June, 2008 at 11 a.m. there will be a celebration during which the brewery tour will be declared barrier-free and at the courtyard of the brewery it will be followed by the Run for a Parasol – a benefit sporting and social event, during which runners will compete for a symbolically betted prize. The competition’s loser will give the amount to charity.

visit the Pilsen brewery

“We are able to give the full experience also to visitors with vision or hearing impairments and those with mental or physical disabilities. Besides making technical modifications on the premises we have also trained and equipped our tour guides, who are now fully ready to guide disabled visitors – both from the standpoint of organising the tour and customising the lecture,” says Jindriska Eliaskova, Manager of the division for tourism and care for Pilsner Urquell cultural heritage.

Visitors with impaired vision receive a summary of the tour written in Braille. The tour includes many items, memorabilia, and ingredients that can be perceived by touch or other senses. A true sensory experience can be found at the newly opened ingredient exhibit whose main principle is the employment of touch and taste (hop granule / cone, malt / barley) and also hearing (water). The cellar museum offers hooper products (keg, tub) and materials used by hoopers for their making (wood planks and pitch). The movement on the tour is made easier by barrier-free entrances, a bus which carries visitors in comfort to the bottling plant, as well as elevators in the bottling and brewing plants, thanks to which visitors do not have to use the stairway.

visit the Pilsen brewery

Brewery visitors with impaired hearing receive a printed version of the tour and thus have all the information told by the tour guide.

“Disabled visitors can come to us also as a separately reserved group or individually, where they can join a group of other tourist,” concludes Jindriska Eliaskova.

Current overview of the entire visitor tour, including elements for disabled people

1. The brewery tour starts at the Visitor Centre – refurbished monument of industrial architecture (barrier-free entrance and restrooms, printed materials are available in Braille).

2. It is followed by a tour of the most modern bottling plant in the Czech Republic with an hourly capacity of up to 120 thousand bottles (transportation to the bottling plant by bus with a wheelchair lift, barrier-free elevator).

3. In a new panoramic projection room with a revolving auditorium, the unique manufacturing process of Pilsner Urquell beer is introduced.

4. A modern exhibit is dedicated to the top Czech ingredients the beer is produced from. It engages not only vision but also other senses of the visitors.

5. An extraordinary item in the exhibit is also the sensitively restored historical brewery from the 1920s, which is followed by the current modern Pilsner Urquell brewery (elevator).

6. After the walk through the Hall of Fame with the most precious artefacts, the brewery tour ends with a visit to the historic cellars partially still used for fermentation and curing of beer in oak tubs and casks. For visitors 18 years of age and older, the cellar visit includes tasting of non-filtered and non-pasteurised Pilsner Urquell draught beer directly from the lager casks (To make the cellar visit more pleasant, people with limited motion ability can borrow a blanket).

Contact Person:
Jiri Marecek
Plzensky Prazdroj
+ 420 724 617 219

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  • With total sales of over 10.9 million hectolitres in the calendar year 2007 and exports to more than 55 countries around the world, Plzensky Prazdroj, a. s., is a major beer producer in the region and the largest exporter of Czech beer. The major brands in the Czech Republic include Pilsner Urquell, Gambrinus, Radegast, Velkopopovický Kozel and the non-alcoholic brand Radegast Birell.
  • The beer is brewed in three breweries in the Czech Republic – in the Pilsen brewers, the Radegast brewery and the Velké Popovice brewery.
  • The Plzeňský Prazdroj, a.s. company is fully aware of its responsibility towards the environment and has adopted a policy of environmental protection as one of its business principles. This involves above all the care of water sources, wastewater treatment, minimization of its carbon footprint, recycling, energy conservation and increased transport efficiency.
  • Plzensky Prazdroj, a. s. is a member of the global group SABMiller plc., the world’s second largest brewer, with brewing interests or distribution agreements in over 60 countries across six continents. Pilsner Urquell is the international flagship of the SABMiller brand portfolio.

Pilsen