České Budějovice (German and English: Budweis) is a city in the Czech Republic. It is the largest city in the South Bohemian Region and is the political and commercial capital of the region and centre of the Roman Catholic Diocese of České Budějovice and of the University of South Bohemia and the Academy of Sciences. The town is not to be confused with Moravské Budějovice in Moravia.
Budějovice has long been well known for the beer brewed there since the 13th century. For a time the town was the imperial brewery for the Holy Roman Emperor, and Budweiser Bier (beer from Budweis) became, along with Plzeň’s Pilsener, one of the best-known lagers. Brewing remains a major industry. The largest brewery, founded in 1895, is Pivovar Budějovický Budvar (Budweiser Budvar Brewery) which has legal rights to market its beer under the “Budweiser” brand name in much of Europe. The same product is also sold elsewhere under the names “Budvar” and “Czechvar” due to legal disagreements with Anheuser-Busch over the Budweiser brand. The American lager was originally brewed as an imitation of the famous Bohemian original, but over time has developed its own identity and attained remarkable commercial success. Anheuser-Busch has made offers to buy out the Czech brewing company in order to secure global rights to the name “Budweiser”, but the Czech government has refused all such offers, regarding the Czech Budweiser name as a matter of national pride.
The old town preserves interesting architecture from Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and 19th century period. This includes buildings around the large town square, the old town hall with murals and bronze gargoyles, and the town tower “Černá věž” (“Black Tower”). In the new town the Belle Époque Austro-Hungarian train station is notable. The most valuable historic building in České Budějovice is the Dominican convent with the Gothic Presentation of the Virgin Mary church on Piaristic Square. The horse-drawn railroad line connecting České Budějovice to Linz was the second oldest public line in continental Europe (after the St.Etienne-Andrexieux line in France), constructed from 1824 to 1832; mere traces of the line can be seen south of the city center.
The ruins of the home castle of the Czech national hero Jan Žižka, Trocnov, are located some ten kilometres (6 miles) southeast of the town. A bit further away (approximately 30 km), the town of Český Krumlov is another popular tourist destination in South Bohemia. In 1992, it was added to UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.
Sandhamn ("Sand Harbour") is a small settlement in the central-peripheral part of the Stockholm Archipelago in central-eastern Sweden, approximately 50...
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization. Its mandate includes issues...
