On the occasion of last year’s celebrations commemorating the 120th anniversary of the brewery’s founding, Budweiser Budvar’s Visitor Centre prepared special theatrical evening tours in historical costumes with actors dressed in realistic period clothes in the roles of tour guides. By means of acting, they transposed the visitors to the times of the Czech Joint-Stock Brewery’s founding as well as other crucial points in its long history. Last year, the interest in these tours was enormous, highly exceeding the expectations of the organizers.
“Originally we had planned to organize only five theatrical shows, but due to a huge interest, eventually 10 of such visits took place attended by over 800 people. Therefore, we are going to repeat these ‘trips through time” this year as well,” says Budweiser Budvar’s gastronomy department manager Tomáš Olejník, who is responsible for the services of the Visitor Centre.
Theatrical tours also have an important educational role, as the scripts for individual scenes are based on proven historical facts. “The background documents were also found in the minutes of the board meeting of the Czech Joint Stock Brewery. We tried to draw near to the real looks - as far as we know - of the historical personalities who appear in the scenes. In my opinion, in some cases - such as the personality of the brewery’s first brewing master Antonín Holeček - we really managed that well,” says Ivo Hajn from Budweiser Budvar, who participated on the project. The script and production was provided by České Budějovice agency Kultur-Kontakt, which has organized e.g. the popular “Walks through the history” for many years.
The theatrical tours take place on the 6th, 13th, 20th and 27th April 2016 at 7.30 p.m. Those interested will be expected to turn up to the vestibule of the Budweiser Budvar’s Visitor Centre. The tickets must be booked in advance and can be ordered at exkurse@budvar.cz, by phone at 387 705 347, in Budweiser Budvar’s e-shop as well as at www.visitbudvar.cz and www.cbsystem.cz. The entrance fee is CZK 200. The next opportunity to experience this tour will not arise until October 2016, when four more theatrical tours are planned to take place.
The standard tours of the brewery will continue unchanged - i.e. every day, including the weekends from 9 to 5 p.m. It is essential to always reserve tickets in advance. Every working day (in the summer and at weekends) from 2 p.m., visitors can take part in a tour without a prior reservation. The guides speak Czech or one of the other six world languages. For further details on Budweiser Budvar tours, including the on-line reservation, see the web site http://www.visitbudvar.cz/.
Budweiser Budvar’s Visitor Centre has been offering entertainment and information since 2005, providing many other services as well. Last year, Budweiser Budvar was visited by almost 52,000 people. The Budvar Beer Restaurant is located directly in the brewery premises, where besides perfectly treated beer the visitors can savour gastronomic specialties of traditional Czech cuisine in particular. The offer of services is completed by a beer and souvenir shop as well as comprehensively equipped facilities for corporate training and social events.