A chronological history of the Plzen


X. century
XIII. century
XIV. century
XV. century
XVI. century
XVII. century
XVIII. century
XIX. century
XX. century


X. century

976 first records of Plzen castle
992 Bishop St.Vojtech founds a small monastery and the church Kostelec P.Marie (of Virgin Mary) now of St.George in Doubravka

XIII. century
1295 on the order of King Wenceslas II the locator Jindrich founds a town called Nova Plzen (New Plzen) on an area of approximately 20 hectares consisting of a rectangular network of 15 streets and a square

XIV. century
1307 first written record of a brewery in Plzen, the document bears the oldest known town seal
1320 John of Luxembourg further extends the town area
1328 first record of the city s Latin School

XV. century
1411 Jan Hus writes a letter to the people of Plzen expressing satisfaction with their moral quality and appeals to them to maintain their fortitude
1414 burgesses, led by the preacher Vaclav Koranda senior, expel members of the Order of German Knights from the city
1419 in November Vaclav Koranda brings a troop of South Bohemian Hussites led by Jan Zizka
1420 in March the Hussites leave the city and go to the town of Tabor. Plzen still inclines towards Rome
1421 Zizka besieges Plzen for the first time, but without success
1427 the Hussites besiege the town, they later besiege it in 1431 and 1433-1434
1434 19th September - Zikmund s Golden Bull liberates the inhabitants of the town from taxes, duties, tolls and other fees
1449 Plzen becomes a member of the Strakonice Anti-Podebrady Union
1460 Great Lake founded in Bolevec
1466 Plzen people secede from King George of Podebrady
1466 residence of the Prague Chapter in one kind in the town up to 1478
1468 Plzen inhabitants acknowledge Matthias of Hungary as Czech King
1468 first Czech book "Trojan Chronicle" is printed in Plzen
1480 Plzen inhabitants obtain a city magistrate's office

XVI. century
1507 great fire, two-thirds of the town burn down, other fires in 1525, 1526, 1601, 1604, 1729, 1792, 1835
1546 after the death of Matous Svihovsky, last priest of the Order of German Knights, the city gains a patron's privilege to the parish church
1578 the city council passes a bill according to which no non-Catholic may become a burgess in Plzen, since then Plzen was always a faithful Catholic town
1599 Emperor Rudolf II flees from the plague to Plzen and stays here until 1600. The town temporarily becomes the capital of the empire

XVII. century
1618 21st November - Plzen is conquered by the army of the Estates led by Arnost Mansfeld
1633
-34
from December 1633 to February 1634 Albrecht von Wallenstein is staying in the city, he is murdered in Cheb on 25th February 1634
1635 the plague in Plzen, again in 1648, 1680, 1714; 1832 - cholera
1681 a plague column is erected in the square, it is the first public expression of Baroque in the city
1695 Jan Sladky Kozina, leader of rebels in the Chodsko region, executed in Plzen, his dead body hangs on the gallows for one year

XVIII. century
1714 Dominican convent founded
1776 a grammar school set up in Plzen
1779 raabization (land reform) introduced an city lords' estates
1786 city population 5,246
1788 council authorities set up in the city
1795 start of the demolition of the city walls
1799 passage of the Russian Army, allies with Austria against Napoleon, 16-18th December General Suvorov stays in the city

XIX. century
1804 Philosophical Institute set up
1818 first Bohemian theatre performance in Plzen
1819 first Bohemian school "of the 3 R's" founded, the first Czech school in the city
1827 foundation of the D.L.Levit tannery, the third largest in Bohemia
1832 first stone theatre built in Plzen and hospital opened
1835 spire of St Bartholomew's Church on fire
1836 2nd February - death of professor J.V.Sedlacek, representative of the first revivalist generation in Plzen
1840
-43
Bedrich Smetana studies in Plzen
1842 city brewery starts brewing beer
1849 Sasky (later Roosevelt) Bridge opened
1856 11th July - death of J.K.Tyl in Plzen, buried in Mikulas Cemetery
1858 telegraph link with Marianske Lazne opened, gas-lighting set up in the square and main streets
1859 foundation of the Waldstein Engineering Works, purchased in 1869 by Emil Skoda
1859 the whole square cobblestoned (now the Square of the Republic)
1861 death of J.F.Smetana on 18th February, representative of the second generation of Plzen revivalists
1861 Plzen-Furth im Wald railway track opened (further tracks to be opened are: 1862 Plzen-Prague, 1868 to Ceske Budejovice and Vienna, 1872 to Cheb, 1873 to Zatec, 1878 to Zelezna Ruda)
1866 almost a two-month occupation of the city by the Prussian Army
1889 new city waterworks built on Homolka hill
1899 city power station built and electric trams introduced (Bory - Lochotin), constructed by Frantisek Krizik
1899 the Skoda Works becomes a joint-stock company

XX. century
1902 new hospital opened in Bory
1902 new building of theatre opened (now the J.K.Tyl Theatre)
1906 4th May - death of Frantisek Schwarz, representative of the third revivalist generation in Plzen
1917 25th May - explosion catastrophe in munition factory in Bolevec, 300 people dead
1917 14th August - martial law declared in Plzen revoked after 14 days
1918 21st June - shots fired on children in Koterovska Street, six children dead
1918 28th October - the Czechoslovak Republic declared
1924 Greater Plzen created with the incorporation of villages of Doubravka, Doudlevce, Lobzy and Skvrnany - population now 108,023
1938 occupation of the border area by Nazi forces, Litice near Plzen attached to the Reich
1941 trolleybus operation begins
1942 city authority set up in Plzen, incorporation of villages of Bolevec, Bozkov, Bukovec, Cernice, Hradiste, Koterov, Radobycice, Ujezd
1942
-45
11 air-raids on the city, 6,777 houses damaged or destroyed, 926 lives lost
1945 5th May - spontaneous uprising by the Plzen population against Nazi occupiers
1945 6th May - early morning the American Army came to Plzen, city liberated from Nazi rule
1945 Medical Faculty of Charles University set up in Plzen
1948 Pedagogical Faculty set up in Plzen
1949 Technical College of Engineering and Electronics set up in Plzen
1953 1st June - demonstration of Plzen population against the currency reform, suppressed by the People's Police and Communist authorities. Removal of the Liberation Monument with statue of T.G.Masaryk
1957 building of housing estates in the city suburbs (1957 Slovany, 1961 Doubravka, 1966 Bory, 1968 Slovany, 1974 Lochotin, 1989 Vinice)
1972 population of Plzen reaches 150,000
1976 administrative unit of today's Plzen-city set up.
After various campaigns villages are definitively incorporated or separated. Further villages to be incorporated are: Cernice, Radobycice, Koterov, Cerveny Hradek, Krimice, Radcice, (Litice already incorporated in 1970)
1985 first section of the new Medical Faculty Hospital in Lochotin opened
1990 1st July - population of Plzen 175,038


This page is available in both English and Czech versions.

[ Plzen | Centre | Guide | Landmarks | Underground | History | Film | Events ] ... [ University ]
Milos Wimmer May 1997

Copyright © 2002 City of Plzen. All Rights Reserved.