PILSEN GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE

Environmental condition
Latitude      49.44 °N
Longitude   13.23 °E
Elevation    293 - 452 m (961 - 1,483 feet) above sea level
The city of Plzen is situated in the Plzen basin on the confluence of four rivers - Mze, Radbuza, Uhlava and Uslava; the river resulting from the confluence is called Berounka. The city centre is approx. 310 m above the sea level; there are several hills elevated more than 400 m above the sea level in the outskirts. The shortest distance from Plzen to the sea is less than 500 km, to the SczecinGulf in the Baltic Sea or to the Trieste Gulf in the Adriatic Sea. However, the city isn’t directly connected to the sea by inland ship transport.

Pilsen The Center of The Region

The New Town of Pilsen was founded at the confluence of four rivers - Radbuza, Mze, Uhlava and Uslava - following a decree issued by the Czech king Wenceslas II. He did so in 1295. Since the very beginning, the town became a busy trade center located at the crossroads of two important trade routes. They were linking the Czech lands with German cities Nuremburg and Regensburg.

In the 14th century, Pilsen was the third largest town after Prague and Kutna Hora. It comprised 290 houses on an area of 20 ha. Its population was 3,000 inhabitants. In the 16th century, after several fires that damaged the inner center of the town, Italian architects and builders contributed significantly to the changing character of the city. The most renowned among them was Giovanni de Statia. The Holy Roman Emperor, Czech king Rudolf II, resided in Pilsen twice between 1599-1600. It was in the time of the Estates revolt. He fell in love with the city. He even bought two houses neighbouring with the town hall and had them reconstructed according to his taste. The historical heart of the City - almost identical with the original Gothic layout - was declared protected historic city reserve in 1989.

Pilsen experienced a tremendous growth in the first half of the 19th century. The City Brewery was founded in 1842 and the Skoda Works in 1859. With the population of 167, 000 inhabitants, Pilsen prides itself on being the seat of the University of West Bohemia and Bishopric. By the end of 2003, Plzen-city had a population of ca. 164 000 inhabitants.

St. Batholomew's Cathedral Natural Cultural Monument The construction of the cathedral of St. Bartholomew began in 1295 and was finished by the beginning of the 16th century. There is to be seen the Pilsen Madonna. The famous relic is situated by the altar and it dates from 1390. It is a statue of the "beautiful style" of the Czech Madonnas. In 1993, Pope John Paul II bestowed upon Pilsen the right to become a bishopric and the Church of St. Bartholomew became a cathedral. St. Bartholomew's Cathedral tower has the highest church steeple in the CzechRepublic (102.3 m).

Pilsen Parks

The Parks – “sady Petatricatniku", “sady 5. kvetna”, “Krizik", "Safarik", "Kopecky", and "Smetana", gradually appeared from the beginning of the 19th century replacing the former medieval city fortifications. A few prominent buildings stand around the park ring, e.g.: the Continental Hotel, the Museum of West Bohemia, the Burgher's Public House, the Slovan Hotel, the Josef Kajetan Tyl Theatre.

Pilsen Zoological and Botanical Garden
The Garden, 21 ha large and located near the centre of the city, has a varied landscape with small lakes, rocks, arboretum and parks. The Zoo has the second largest space for bears in Europe, and a natural habitat for monkeys and large cats. A greenhouse for succulents and a special informational path can be found in the Botanical garden together with the "Evolution of Nature in the Quaternary period". Lizards living here are among the rarest animals fond anywhere, particularly the Komodo dragons. These large lizards exist in only a few Zoos in the world.

This was the result of an e-twinning project between
our school and a Czech school.

Go back to the map

Go to "Our School"