After 100 years, the Pilsen cathedral has been renovated
Next to the world-famous Pilsner Urquell Gate, which adorns beer labels all over the world, Pilsen’s Gothic church, St. Bartholomew’s Cathedral, remains one of its dominant landmarks. Finally, after 100 years of waiting, the structure has been newly renovated. After a 30-year pause, the cathedral is opening its doors to the general public and expanding its offer to tourists with unique commentated tours.
Commentated tours of the cathedral
During the tour, your guide will lead you through the lit interiors of the cathedral, where the Neo-Gothic presbytery, adorned with the Madonna of Pilsen and its main patron, St. Bartholomew, stands as the primary feature.
On the second tour route, you’ll make your way to the attic space, an area that visitors weren’t allowed to see in the past. In the attic, you can look forward to seeing the newly finished exposition about the cathedral and its development as well as the history of the tower and bells.
Commentated tours in German or English must be arranged prior to your visit. If you would prefer to embark on an individual tour of the cathedral, you can do so every weekday from 10-18 hr., or from 13-18 hr. on weekends.
And if you still have some strength left after your tour, you can climb all the way to the top of the tallest church tower in the Czech Republic, where your reward will be a breath-taking view over all of Pilsen.
Another of Pilsen’s renovated landmarks will be taking visitors in 2022
One of Pilsen’s most visited sights is the Great Synagogue. This building, also known as the third largest synagogue in Europe, which accommodated over two thousand believers in the days before WWII, is currently undergoing reconstruction.
Tourists and concert- and exposition-goers alike will be able to return to the fully renovated interior next year. New to the synagogue, visitors will find a smaller museum as well as a permanent exposition dedicated to the ritual bath, the so-called “Mikveh”, in the next-door Rabbi’s home.
