Where Gothic Spires Meet the Golden Lager That Changed the World
In 1295, King Wenceslaus II planted a new city at the confluence of four rivers. Within decades it became Bohemia\u2019s third-largest city, a crossroads of trade between Prague and Nuremberg.
But Plzeň\u2019s real revolution came in 1842, when a Bavarian brewer named Josef Groll poured the world\u2019s first golden lager \u2014 and accidentally invented a beer style that now accounts for two-thirds of all beer consumed on Earth.
Beneath the cobblestones lies a 15-kilometre labyrinth of medieval cellars. Above ground, the tallest church spire in Bohemia pierces the sky. This is a city of inventors, rebels, and brewmasters \u2014 and its secrets are hiding in plain sight.
"Plzeň is liquid gold \u2014 above ground and below."
\u2014 Czech brewing proverb