VIRTUAL TOUR OF BEROUN

The Berounka River

Beroun Sights and Attractions Nature Attractions
The Berounka river is formed by the confluence of the Mže and Radbuza. It is 130 km long and joins the Vltava in Lahovice. The original name of the river was Mže. Kosmas in his chronicle calls it the Msa or the Misa. It was the Pilsner memorialist Jan Tanner who called it the Berounka for the first time. The establishment and spreading of the name Berounka was mostly contributed to by the large map of Bohemia by J. K. Müller dated 1720. The river has brought numerous floods to Beroun. The first detailed reports and descriptions of floods - catastrophes that still afflict Beroun to this day, date back to the 17th century. The most disastrous great water hit Beroun in 1872. It flooded three-quarters of the town, inflicting tremendous damage. The water level on the square is indicated by a cast iron tablet situated on Jenštejn House. The last great water ravaged the city in August 2002. Part of the city including the square were flooded with water. The damage was estimated at 600 milion Czech Crowns. The calm river, on the other hand, was and still continues to be a paradise for anglers and also for water sportsmen.

A modern mobile weir over the Berounka river was built in 2010-2011. It is situated on the site of an old weir. The current weir is 2,5 m high and 90 metres wide. The weir is able to control the water level before the weir, and thus retain or accelerate the water flow.
The waterworks are part of the municipal flood control measures.

There is a small hydro power plant and a fish pass on the left bank near the weir. A small hydro power plant was built together with the weir. Four Kaplan turbines produce 720 kW. The 130 metre long fish pass is a natural type of pass and enables aquatic animals to migrate in both directions.

Městská Hora Hill

Beroun Sights and Attractions Nature Attractions
Městská hora (Town Mountain) is located in the centreof the town. Mighty advanced fortifications were built in the Middle Age on a hill with a height of 291 m above sea level. It used to be called the Priest Mouuntain (Kněží hora) according to the large area of land owned by the church. Thanks to the care provided by the Decoration Society and the Czech Tourist Club starting in the 1880s, the Town Mountain was gradually converted into a forest park. A fifteen-metre reinforced concrete gazebo was built in 1936 over the municipal water conduit reservoir. In 2000, the city built a bear yard on Town Mountain, in which it breeds three of its heraldic animals. Nowadays, there is only one of them left -  Kuba - the two bears sadly died. Vojta in 2016 and Matěj in 2023.
The peaceful woodland park offers two childrens´ playgrounds and a stall selling refreshment.

Museum of the Czech Karst

Beroun Sights and Attractions Museums & Galleries
The museum is located in the Jenštejnský and Salátovský houses, the most significant houses on the Husovo square.

The Jenštejn House is one of the historically oldest and architecturally most precious burgher´s houses in Beroun. At first glance it attracts by its Renaissance portal made of red limestone with the Latin sign: Benedic Domine Domum istam et omnes habitantes in ea. Henricus Cžižek de Genstein Gratae posteritati. Anno Domini 1612. (Lord bless this house and all the people staying inside. Jindřich Čížek of Jenštejn to his dear descendants. Anno Domini 1612)
It gained its Baroque appearance through its reconstruction after the town fire in 1735. The house with an arched passage to Slapská Street intervenes on the left side. 

The Salátovský House was bought by the rich burgher of Beroun Alžběta Salátová in 1643, at the time also owner of the neighbouring Jenštejn house. After a reconstruction following the town fire in 1735, the the house received a low Baroque gable over a high attico with two rectangular windows. A part of the gable collapsed in a storm in 1967 and subsequent repairs changed the appearance of the gable. In terms of the construction adaptations in the late 1990s, Salátovský House was interconnected with Jenštejn House.

The Museum of the Czech Karst offers permanent exhhibitions such as The History of Crafts in Beroun, 18th and 19th Century Arms in the Beroun Region, Living Nature and Caves of the Czech Karst, short terms s exhibitions and an outdoor exhibition of Barrandien Geopark.
The interior of the Pilsen Gate offers a permanent exhibition on the history and architecture of the gate and the entire fortification system, and a breath-taking view from the gate ambit. http://muzeum-beroun.cz/ Address: Husovo náměstí 87, Beroun

Beroun Municipal Gallery

Beroun Sights and Attractions Museums & Galleries
The gallery was founded in 2001, originally set in the Czech Karst museum building. Now it is situated in the Dusl villa, one of the most beautiful houses in the town. Listed as a protected Neo-Renaissance house, built in 1890 by Martin Dusl, between 2002-2003 it underwent a reconstruction. The gallery offers current exhibitions of artists from Beroun and its vicinity. https://www.mkcberoun.cz/mestska-galerie Address: Politických vězňů 203

St. James Church

Beroun Sights and Attractions Church Monuments
The three-nave dean church of St. James the Greater dates back to the time of the foundation of the town. It was rebuilt and extended in 1543. The church burned down several times and save for the belfry was restored in the 17th century. The new belfry was built in the 17th century in the Baroque style.  The church and its interior furnishings underwent a thorough renovation under the leadership of well-known architect Josef Fanta in 1903-1907. Untill 16th century the church was surrounded by a cemetary. The most valuable relics include pictures by the painter Jan Petr Molitor, namely the picture of St. John of Nepomuk on the altar of the same saint in the left cathedral nave. Further, the picture of the Descent of Christ from the Cross by an an unknown painter which ich situated above the Lord´s Grave Altar in the same nave. The Rococo pulpit made in 1754 is the work of the Prague carver Josef Šnábl. The tin baptistery mad in 1606 by Matouš Flemink of Rakovník is of historical value.

According to the myth, at 2 am on the first Sunday of Advent, a strange organ sounds ca be heard from the church and lights behind the windows can be seen. This "mass of the dead" is consecrated by the priest who had died the last. Anyone alive who would enter the church would die within three days. Address: Seydlovo náměstí Coordinates: 49.9638744, 14.0715617