Plzensky Prazdroj introduces a responsible tour route designed for schools

With effect from September 2009, Plzensky Prazdroj offers a special program for school groups and for individual visitors under the age of 18. Minors will be introduced to the history and tradition of Czech brewing and to the role Prazdroj has played in it. Unlike the standard tour route that all visitors regardless of their age had the chance to undertake up to now, this route includes also a visit to the Water tower, the cooper’s workshop and the exposition on methods of beer transportation. Underage visitors will not have the opportunity to visit premises directly connected with the beer-making process. The only exception will be granted to students of hotel and gastronomy schools; for them, the tour is part of their educational programme.

Plzeňský Prazdroj, a leading brewing company now introduces a new sustainable development responsibility trend. “The brewery and the crafts connected with the beer brewing art played their role in the Czech history and are bound to Czech tradition and culture. We believe that it would be a shame not to give underage visitors the opportunity to visit the brewery. Therefore, we now offer a new excursion program named “Brewing – a successful Czech industry” to schools”, says Ludek Kraus, Corporate Affairs Manager.

Ludek also explains why the brewery decided to introduce this novelty: “Plzensky Prazdroj, as the leading brewing company in Central Europe, sets an example of responsibility. We perceive the concerns of the public in connection with alcohol consumption of minors. Our marketing activities are strictly focused on persons over 18 years, which is now demonstrated also on the brewery tour routes. Groups of underage visitors can still visit the brewery, yet the tour route designed for them will focus on the history and tradition of Czech brewing and on the role Plzensky Prazdroj has played in it”, says Luděk Kraus from Plzensky Prazdroj.

This new program will in all three breweries of Plzensky Prazdroj (Pilsen, Velke Popovice and Nosovice) offer a full experience of the brewery, yet from a different point of view.

In Pilsen, the excursion starts in the Visitors´ Centre with an introduction to the history of brewing in Bohemia and continues with the famous story of the Pilsner Urquell brand being recounted in our cinema. The courtyard of the brewery gives visitors the opportunity to admire the first of the two cultural monuments of brewing, the Jubilee Gate (Historical Gate). The second sight is the Water Tower. The visitors will have the unique chance to take a look inside this over 100-year-old technical building.
Part of the tour is dedicated to the history of crafts, for instance, the coopery, which deserves a special exhibition where the visitors can try putting together a barrel. The methods of beer transportation are demonstrated by historical means of transport – carriage, a locomotive and a truck. The most important gems of the brewery’s history are exhibited in the Hall of Fame. Towards the end of the tour, visitors will go through the labyrinth of cellars to the cooling chamber, where ice used to be stored throughout the year. In the cellars, visitors can crawl through the literally little hole in the lid of the barrel as the coopers used to do when cleaning the barrels in the past.

In Velke Popovice, the programme starts at the Visitors’ Centre, with an introduction to the history of brewing in Czech lands, and continues with the interesting story of the Brewery in the cinema. Next, the visitors will learn about the Ringhoffers – the family who founded the Brewery and became well known for their entrepreneurial successes. The new museum-style exhibition offers visitors a ‘walk through’ the brewery’s history and a closer look at the artefacts. The tour will end with a visit by the Brewery’s mascot – a live goat that goes by the name of Olda.

In the Radegast brewery, the program for minors starts at the reception of the Visitors’ Centre, with a film about the region and the legend of the local pagan deity – Radegast. Next, the visitors will learn about Nosovice village, its history and the various crafts that used to be part of the beer-making process. The tour continues up the lookout tower, which offers a fabulous view of the mountainous landscape around the Brewery. There, the visitors will be given some more details about brewing in Northern Moravia and the Nošovice locality.

“The decision to introduce special tour routes for minors has been made by Plzeňský Prazdroj management. We believe that the public will appreciate and recognize it as a responsible step in the right direction“, comments Luděk Kraus on the novelty introduced in Prazdroj.

Both individual visitors and groups of underage pupils and students who make their appointment in advance can take part in the “Brewing – A successful Czech industry” program.
Individual visitors with children under 18 can make a choice to either take part in the new program or in the standard tour of the brewery. It its up to the parents to decide which route they will select for their children.

primary and secondary schools have the opportunity to take part not only in the “Brewing – A successful Czech Industry” program but also in the in the tour of the Brewery Museum and of the Pilsen Underground which are accessible by visitors of all ages. For schools, we have even prepared special educational programs.

Notes for editors:

• Plzensky Prazdroj’s activities for visitors to the city of Pilsen include the on-site Visitors’ Centre, Brewery Tour, and Packaging Hall as well as the Brewery Museum and the Historical Underground in the city centre.
• The Pilsen brewery has become an important social point of the whole region, where a number of culture and educational events and presentations take place, and ranks among the most attractive tourist destinations in the country.
• The Brewery Museum is located in an original building on Veleslavinova Street. The building has long held a licence to brew beer and has preserved its authentic look to this day. The Museum was first opened in 1959, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the trademark Plzenske pivo (Pilsen Beer),
• The Pilsen Historical Underground Tour is 800 metres long and its entrance is located in the Brewery Museum. The labyrinth of corridors, cellars and wells under the city centre, the building of which began as early as in the 14th century, has been an integral part of the city’s past and present.
• Every year, almost 200,000 people from around the world visit the Pilsen brewery, Brewery Museum and the Historical Underground.

Contact:
Jiri Marecek
Plzensky Prazdroj
+420 724 617 219

Pilsen