| A Town which hops and beer call home |
| Tuesday, 15 March 2011 22:45 |
|
It is not at all important whether you like beer or not for you to take a trip to the town of Žatec. Several new tourist attractions combined with the renowned local hop growing industry offer entertainment for the young and old, for fans of the amber nectar and even for those who have never fallen for its charm. In short, gather up your family or friends and set out from Prague to the northwest of Bohemia! Žatec and its treasures Saaz hops represents the classic Czech family silver. First mention of its cultivation dates back as far as the eleventh century, it has become a real institution and thanks to its superb characteristics, the hops is used by breweries the world over including producers of the most famous brands of beer such as Budweiser Budvar or Pilsner Urquell. The secret of cultivating Saaz hops and brewing great beer will be uncovered for you by the Temple of Hops and Beer, a new centre open all year round with a hop cultivation theme. The complex, which cost almost a quarter of a million crowns, is being established in locations where the green gold used to be dried, stored and packed, in hop buildings dating back to the 19th century. Thanks to the Temple of Hops and Beer, the offer things that are unique in the world which the town of Žatec can boast, has again increased. Already in the past, it was possible to view what is allegedly the smallest hop field in the world on the square here and the hops research institute houses the smallest brewery. And for anybody who feels that this list of “number ones” is not enough, we can also mention the Museum of Hops, evidently the oldest exhibition of its kind in the world. Things you won’t find anywhere else The Temple of Hops and Beer is full of attractions. The greatest attention is attracted by the hops lighthouse standing 40 m in height. You will be carried to the top by lift, in which a surprise awaits you in the form of a 3D animation and then from the lookout platform, you can enjoy a view over the renowned hop growing region from a bird’s eye perspective. Right near the lighthouse, you will find the old hop warehouse and in it, an original maze made from hop sacks. This includes not only an alchemist’s workshop and metre-high model of a hop cone, but also pictures by the painter from Žatec, Lubomír Fárka, or historical photographs of the inhabitants of Žatec. From the maze, you then descend to the Heraldry Hall, decorated with the coats of arms of all the villages where Saaz hops is cultivated; there is also a gift shop selling t-shirts, postcards, beer glasses and other souvenirs. Another much-admired place in the Temple of Hops and Beer is the original astronomical clock with stylised motifs, which rings out every hour on the hour similarly to the much older Astronomical clock on the Old Town Square in Prague – only instead of apostles, Mariáš cards are shown in the window. You should not miss out on a tour of the Museum of Hops, where you will get to know the development of the hop growing industry from the Middle Ages to the present day. You will, for example, learn why it is in Žatec that the best hops in the world is harvested and why since the Middle Ages this had to be protected against bad quality imitations. You will also find interesting tools here, means of mechanisation and historical machinery. Did you know that …? The designation Žatecký chmel (Saaz hops) was registered in the Register of Protected Designations of Origin and Protected Geographical Designations in 2007. In fact, in terms of the EU, this was the first time designation was awarded relating to hops and one of the first for Czech agricultural or food products. |
| Last Updated on Tuesday, 15 March 2011 22:55 |
