Beer is a traditional Czech beverage. It is said that the average Czech drinks about 300 pints of beer annually. That means close to six beers a week. But how did beer appear in the Czech Republic and what was its journey?
First mentions of beer
Beer is as old as civilization itself. One of the first mentions of beer indicates that it probably came from the North Caucasus. Here, archaeologists found 5,500-year-old drinking straws.
Arrival of beer in Czech monasteries
The tradition of drinking beer was introduced to Bohemia by the Slavs during the Migration of Nations. At first, beer was brewed only in monasteries, where hops were also later grown. One of the first monasteries associated with beer is the Benedictine monastery in Břevnov, which was built in 993 by bishop Vojtěch.
Beer and Czech nobility
Beer production in Bohemia eventually expanded beyond the monasteries and it found such popularity among the middle classes that even the nobility became interested in it. In 1517, therefore, the Treaty of St Wenceslas was issued, which put an end to the monopoly of the townspeople on brewing beer.
Beer as a necessity of life
Beer is so popular in the Czech Republic that people cannot imagine life without it.
Beer in Bohemia from the 16th to the 21st century
The largest number of breweries was in Bohemia and Moravia in the 16th century. Another very important milestone in the history of brewing is the year 1842 – when the Burghers’ Brewery in Pilsen was founded.
Beer at the Original Beer Spa
Beer in the Czech Republic is so popular that we even bathe in it. Try it for yourself. Beer yeast has a beneficial effect on the skin and the hop and peat extracts have soothing, moisturising, and tonic effects. Apart from the unlimited beer on tap, what else awaits you at the Original Beer Spa? A bath of beer in a whirlpool oak tub, a bed of wheat straw for resting, a private sauna, oak pails for cooling, fresh homemade beer bread (pivní chléb).
Book your extraordinary experience and enjoy the effects of beer to the fullest. We look forward to seeing you in the heart of Prague.