Trip to Žatec

 Enjoy the weekend in žatec, town where beer and hops are at home

Try and take an advantage of an attractive offer of weekend´s accommodation at the Snake Hotel (Hotel U Hada) in the downtown area of the town in Svoboda Square. Go and have something palatable to eat and drink at the local fancy restaurant called Classica. From Friday to Sunday there is always a programme full of events prepared for you. The programme focuses on the history, hops and beer, all of which have been making and influencing the town itself and its inhabitants for centuries.In the hotel, you can enjoy the traditional pork feast. If you feel like dancing, then there is a band, so feel free to come and have a dance. A guide will show you the local places of interest which are part of the town preserve. You can also enjoy the view of the entire town from the town hall tower. Žatec celebrated its millennium in 2004. Next, you can visit the Museum of Hops that is located in the area of the former packing house and storehouses. 2500 square meters of its unique area shows the development of the hop industry from the beginning of the Early Middle Ages. You can enjoy yourselves in the Museum of Homolupulus that is dedicated to the ancient beer and hops culture. Among other things, we also recommend an excursion to the Žatec Brewery and its operation. The beer tasting will enable you to enjoy the delicious taste of Žatec beer. Finally, you can then visit the Baroque Castle in Krásný Dvůr with expressive influence of French architecture. You will also take a walk in the castle´s natural park with a lot of romantic buildings and lots of valuable species of trees that are more than 100 years old. Dominating the trees is the remaining part of the so-called Goethe oak whose age is estimated at more than 1000 years.

There is no town in the world in which you can find such a unique complex of old hops-houses, streets and squares. 1000 years ago Žatec was a significant centre of power not just in the state ruled by Přemysl Otakar II, but also in the whole of Central Europe.

Enjoy a day in a unique atmosphere of town of hops

During only one Saturday spent in the town you will remember the smell of hops forever, and besides, you will improve your knowledge of history. The visit itself will start in the tourist information office, where you will get detailed information and learn a lot about the tourist routes around the town. The tourist information system includes information boards placed on important town´s monuments. In order to make finding your way around the town easy, the information boards are listed in the guide books. If you go up the city hall tower,  you will enjoy panorama of the old drying houses stacks, and realize that there were many more of them at the end of the 19th century. At that time smoke was coming out of all. You will walk through the area that has been proclaimed the historic preserve of the technical monuments of hop industry. In addition you will be introduced to a multi-purpose industrial architecture from the endof 19th century. Then you can visit the Regional museum of K. A. Polánek (Regionální muzeum K.A.Polánka) in Husova street (Husova ulice) with its permanent exhibitions and the unique collection of hop stamps. In the museum you can also find very interesting short-term expositions. You should not miss Kříž Villa (Křížova vila) which is an evidence of the golden period of hop-growing. You can also visit the Museum of hops (Chmelařské muzeum)  in the Prokop the Great square (náměstí Prokopa Velkého), where you will be impressed by the charm of the period photographs about hop growing and beer-making. After seeing over the Museum of Hops you might get hungry and thirsty. You can quench you thirst by having something to drink at one of the pubs . Walking along the City walls you might come across the Hussite bastion (Husitská bašta) which houses the Museum of Homolupulus (Muzeum Homolupulů). After seeing this exposition it is the right time to go to another pub.

Žatec is the centre of the Žatec hop-growing region. The quality of the Žatec hops have always beenat the top of the European quality and price scales. The Žatec hops witnessed the best-known beerbrands and even now are considered a symbol of the Czech "foamy heritage".

Let´s talk about...
 ... Žatec hops

If you have only half a day, you can still do a lot. During this time you can visit the exposition at the Museum of Hops, and after an informal conversation with Lojza Lupulín in the Museum of Homolupulus, there will be enough time left to drink some beer. I recommend you to start in the Museum of Hops in Prokop the Great Square. This is the biggest exposition of its kind in Europe. In the area of 2500 square meters the development of hop industry from the Early Middle Ages until now is shown. Except the museum´s own collection you will see the building itself which is a technical monument and also an example of industrial multi-purpose architecture from the end of 19th century. You will be impressed by the charm of the period photographs and writings about hop-growing and beer-making. You will also find here some agricultural machinery and historical machines. We will also head for the Museum of Homolupulus where we can find, in its magic interior, traces of the oldest inhabitants of the Žatec hops area -  the legendary people of Homolupulus. You will see the remains of the oldest beer drinker Lojza Lupulín that was found during the excavations in the middle of the Svoboda Square in April 2001. You will be surprised to see the Hop Militia with its divisions that are supposed to defend the local hop-fields and cherish hop-growing traditions. Then you are sure to find out that it is impossible to brew top-quality beer without usingthe Žatec hops.

Žatec is a place where people like enjoying themselves. Every year there are many cultural events organized by the enthusiastic organizers. Many of them celebrate the beer and hop, and have become an indispensable part of the town where beer and hops are at home.

Come and enjoy yourselves...

Chmelfest (festival of hops)

An annual event taking place in the centre of Žatec. This event is aimed at the vernal waking up of hops from a winter sleep.

Programme:
Festive opening of the first keg containing lager in front of the city hall, allegorical floats parade through the town, music, beer contest of groups of four in the beer-athletic events called Memorial of Lojza Lupulín, contest in having the nicest and biggest beer belly called Ideal Beerdrinker (Pivař Ideál), dance in the open air, competitions and entertainment until late at night.

Information:
The Temple of Hops and Beer inŽatec (Chrám Chmele a Piva Žatec)
www.chrampiva.cz
 

Chmelovelo
An annual event at the end of August. It is a four-day-long bicycle tour of the interesting areas of the Žatec hop region.

Programme:
Always from Thursday to Sunday, the tour covers the regions of Žatec, Podbořany, Louny and Postoloprty, part of this is looking for new safe cycle routes and friendly meetings with the mayors of the small villages and also taking part in local events.

Information:
The Temple of Hops and Beer in Žatec (Chrám Chmele a Piva Žatec)
www.chrampiva.cz
 
Hop-harvest Festival (Slavnosti chmele - Žatecká Dočesná)

An annual event takes place over the first weekend in September (from Friday to Saturday). This event is organized towards the end of hop harvest.

Programme:
Very rich cultural programme on several stages, stands, refreshments, rides at the local fun fair attractions, a large number of beer brands, the best tasting beer contest, traditional hop competitions and entertainment in the open air.

Information:
Municipal authority of Žatec (Městskýúřad Žatec)
Tourist information office in Žatec
www.mesto-zatec.cz
 
Other offers:

Tourist information office
nám. Svobody 1
438 24 Žatec
tel./fax: +420 415 736 156
www.mesto-zatec.cz
e-mail: infocentrum@mesto-zatec.cz

Hotel U Hada - "At the Snake" Hotel
nám. Svobody 155
438 01 Žatec
tel./fax: +420 415 711 000
www.uhada-zatec.cz
e-mail: recepce@uhada-zatec.cz

Žatec Brewery
Žižkovo nám. 81
438 01 Žatec
tel./fax: +420 415 710 783
www.zateckypivovar.cz
e-mail: info@zateckypivovar.cz

The Museum of Homolupulus
Dvořákova ul. 37
438 01 Žatec
tel.: 775 151 979
www.chrampiva.cz
e-mail: vales@chrampiva.cz
 

The Museum of hops
nám. Prokopa Velkého
438 01 Žatec
Tel./Fax: +420 415 710 062, , +420 724 431 422
www.chmelarstvi.cz
e-mail: muzeum@chmelarstvi.cz
 

The Museum of K. A. Polánek
Husova ul. 678
438 01 Žatec
tel./fax: +420 415 749 466
www.muzeumzatec.cz
e-mail: rmz@muzeumzatec.cz
 

The Kříž Villa
Zeyerova 344
438 01 Žatec
tel.: +420 415 710 389
www.muzeumzatec.cz
e-mail: vilakriz@muzeumzatec.cz