9thcentury AD - the first fortified settlement founded within the area of today´s  town
1004 - first written report of Žatec in Chronicle by Thiemar of Merseburg
1099 - Břetislav II and Boleslav III ( future Polish ruler ) spend Christmas at Žatec castle
1111 - Soběslav (brother of Prince Vladislav I ) has the town in his care
1248 - first written report of Žatec as a medieval town
1261 - the brewers in Žatec are granted the right to brew beer
1265 - Přemysl Otakar II ( the king of Bohemia ) granted Žatec  important privileges
1335 - John of Luxemburg granted Žatec the right to elect  rector and teachers of the town´s Latin School
1348 - first written report of a hop-garden in Žatec
1405 - craftsmen expelled patriciants from the town council
1415 - the town was  anathematized by Pope
1421 - Žatec succesfully fights off the second crusade´s army
1539 - special seal began to be used as a guarantee of the hop origin
1567 - town population of about 5,000 people, 700 inhabited houses
1582 - great flood which claimed 150 lives  
1602 - the oldest picture of Žatec and its hop-gardens by Jan Willenber
1619 - „Winter King“ Fridrich Falcký visits Žatec
1621 - Maxmilián Hošťálek ( Mayor of Žatec ) is executed in the Old Town Square in Prague
1640 - the plague in Žatec, 1,000 victims
1767 - 4 breweries and 20 malthouses can  be found in Žatec
1788 - Žatec becomes a seat of  regional  council, fire destroys 284 houses
1801 - the town brewery in Žižkovo square put into operation
1827 - new chain bridge built over the River Ohře
1833 - The Hops Association established in order to protect the quality of hops
1860 -  hop-trading market established in Žatec
1884 - The Hop-Grading Hall established
1929 - Josephine Baker ( famous dancer of the Folies Bergere in Paris ) gives performance in Žatec
1930 - population in Žatec reaches 18,100
1934 - 161 firms and companies dealing with hop and 53 hop-packing halls can be found in Žatec
1997 -  Hop Museum is opened ceremonially
2004 - Millennium of the first written records of Žatec

For more detailed information go to:
http://www.muzeumzatec.cz/Stranky/Muzeum/english.htm