Brewery museum celebrates its anniversary with an expanded exhibition

Under the contract which has recently been concluded with Pilsen City’s authority for the administration of public property, Plzensky Prazdroj has taken into its management the Pilsen Historical Underground. All proceeds from the visitors’ tour of the Underground shall be used to improve the exhibition and its marketing support. As owner of the Underground, the City has renewed the historical entrance from the basement of the Brewery Museum.

Since the connection between the Underground and the Brewery Museum had existed in the past, the main thing to be done was to remove the wall which isolated the historical corridor from the Museum premises. The entrance was then modified to be more visitor-friendly, including new lighting and safety installations. The connecting corridor is narrow and allows movement in one direction only. A special signalling device makes sure that groups of visitors move safely through this area.

“With the new tour of the Pilsen Historical Underground, we want to use our successful experience in running tourist sights, enhance awareness of the Historical Underground in Pilsen and raise the attractiveness of the City centre for visitors from around the world,” says Jindriska Eliaskova of Plzensky Prazdroj.

She adds that “The exhibition of the Historical Underground will use the processes and procedures which have proved successful on our current tours. We are introducing an   online reservation system and guides are available in all major world languages.”

The connection with the Historical Underground is a symbolic gift for the 50th anniversary of the Brewery Museum, which will be celebrated between 8 and 10 May 2009 both in the Brewery Museum and the Historical Underground. It will include a ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially open the entrance to the Pilsen underground from the Museum’s building.

The special 50th season of the Museum will also feature a new exhibition mapping out the development of Pilsen’s brewing industry at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Visitors will be taken through the history and fame of the Burghers’ Brewery, and will learn a host of interesting details from the past and present of the Gambrinus brewery and the former Světovar and Prior breweries that once existed in Pilsen.

Notes for editors:

• The Brewery Museum is the only expert facility of its kind in the Czech Republic. It has documented the history of beer making from its very beginnings in ancient times but in particular, it focuses on the preservation of artefacts and visual documents of Czech brewing history.  
• Opened in 1959, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the trademark Plzenske pivo (Pilsen Beer), the Museum celebrates 50 years of its existence this year. The idea to set up a brewery museum is much older, though, dating back to 1929. In terms of the concept and scope of exhibitions, the Museum is a unique facility in the world.
• The Museum’s message is to document and map out the history of brewing without territorial limitations. The exhibition shows the history of brewing from ancient to modern times. It narrates the story of beer making and consumption by the civilisations of Mesopotamia and Egypt, and then by European cultures of Greeks, Romans, Germans, Celts and Slavs. There is plenty of information on the history of Czech brewing and associated crafts and technologies.
• The Brewery Museum in Pilsen is located in an original building which has long held a licence to brew beer and has preserved its authentic look to this day.
• Over 40,000 people from around the world visit the Brewery Museum every year.
• The Brewery Museum pursues professional activities including publishing and scientific research. In addition, it organises and participates in various cultural, educational and presentation events.

Contact:
Jiri Marecek
Plzensky Prazdroj
+420 724 617 219

Pilsen