CONFERENCE DETAILS

Cultural programme

 

 

Welcome Reception

Participants are invited to attend the Welcome Reception, which will take place at Parkhotel. This event is an excellent opportunity to network, meet old friends and colleagues, and to make new ones as the program begins.

 

City Tour

style="text-align: justify" The royal city of Pilsen was founded in 1295 by Wenceslas II at the confluence of four rivers – the Úhlava, Úslava, Radbuza and Mže. Its advantageous location at the crossroads of major trade routes contributed to the rapid economic development of the city, which soon became a centre of cultural and humanistic traditions. The high cultural and social level of the city is reflected in its unique building development. Valuable monuments include the Gothic St. Bartholomew’s Cathedral, the Renaissance town hall, a Franciscan monastery and a Jewish synagogue. During the age of industrialization in the 19th century, industrial giants, including the Skoda engineering complex and world-famous Pilsner Urquell brewery, were founded in the city. The founding of the University of West Bohemia and a bishopric added further cultural and spiritual dimensions to the city.

Today, Pilsen is the dynamic and modern metropolis of western Bohemia. It is home to many major firms and industrial companies, universities and medical schools. It has an extensive network of hotels and restaurants, as well as a rich cultural and sports programme and well-developed tourist infrastructure. Its exceptional quality was confirmed when it earned the title European Capital of Culture for 2015.

Pilsen covers 138 km2, and with nearly 170 thousand inhabitants, it is the fourth largest city in the Czech Republic.

 

Pilsner Urquell Brewery

The Friday´s supper will be held in a stylish Pilsner restaurant “Secese representation halls”. It is situated directly in the famous Pilsner Urquell brewery complex. Townspeople owning the right to brew beer wanted the Pilsner Urquell Brewery to have representative spaces for visitors where they could hold general meetings. Therefore, in 1908 they began reconstruction of one of the buildings.

Works were successfully completed and the unique Art Nouveau halls have since then welcomed many important business partners and celebrities such as TG Masaryk, E. Beneš, V. Havel and V. Klaus. The beer house features a lavish selection of the traditional Czech and modern cuisine. You can also enjoy the draught beer and explore the unique magic spirit of the Pilsner restaurant.

The brewery atmosphere can be tasted with every sip of carefully nurtured Pilsner Urquell beer. You can enjoy not only delicious food and drink, but also rewarding cultural experience in the restaurant. The band performance is a unique event, characterized by an amazing musical variety. The ensemble focuses on the traditional Czech folk culture. You can sing and dance during the performance. Musicians in folk traditional costumes create an unforgettable atmosphere through their music.

 

Techmania Science Center

The Techmania Science Center, one of the newest tourist destination in Pilsen, was founded in 2005 by Škoda Plzeň and the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen. This modern interactive center is housed in a renovated factory building in the Škoda Plzeň complex and it demonstrates that science is not just about research, but it also a possible source of fun. An area of 10 000 square meters offers exhibits focused on physical games, experiments and scientific news from physics, astrophysics, chemistry, mathematics, but also biology, geography and geology.

Techmania also includes the first 3D Planetarium in the Czech Republic which was opened in 2013. There are several main features in the 3D Planetarium. First, the 2D and 3D full dome projections offer great variety of educational movies. The “Science On a Sphere” technology which is the second feature of the planetarium enables original ways of presentation of (not only) scientific issues. The third feature is Space exhibition containing 27 interactive exhibits.

In the permanent exhibit on the history and modern-day Škoda Plzeň one can admire unique technical items – the first locomotive with a fiberglass body (1963), the only surviving troleybus type 3Tr3 (1947) and the oldest surviving electric locomotive produced in Pilsen.

 

Gala Dinner

All participants of ISSE 2016 are invited to the Gala Dinner which will be held in Parkhotel Pilsen on Saturday 21 of May.