Vnitřní Město

Vnitřní Město, or "Inner City" in English, is the geographic and commercial center of Plzeň, as well as its oldest part. The city was first granted a civic charter by King Václav II in 1295, and some buildings in this part of the city are really that old. I would define Vnitřní Město s the Mže River to the north, the Radbuza River to the east, Americká to the south, and Sady Pětatřicátníků to the north. Dominating the district is the Church of Saint Bartholomew, which has the tallest spire in all of the Czech Republic. Other interesting sites include the Pilsner Beer Museum, the network of underground tunnels built in the Middle Ages for storage and shelter, the old water tower, plague column, and town hall. The small neighborhood remains fairly mixed income, and the architecture in the neighborhood is visually appealing, and each building is slightly different from the next. Businesses also vary quite a lot, as this is the commercial heart of the city. So, in addition to restaurants and cafés, shoe stores and tea shops can be found on the ground floors of buildings as well. Almost all residential buildings are older, from between the Middle Ages to the 1920s and 1930s. Of note is the fact that sidewalks here are made of very large, flat stones, instead of the more traditional cobblestone sidewalks in city centers of most other large Czech cities. The main things I would suggest would be a conservation district, if one is not already in place, to protect this part of the city's historical character, and also some bicycle improvements. A unique feature of Plzeň's Vnitřní Město is its gridded streets, which most other Czech old towns don't have. This would mean that bike improvements that were put in place on side streets would still get people to their destinations quickly and efficiently.