Šalandas

Are you looking for something truly unique to give to your family, friends or to your co-workers? Order a Šalanda, a non-traditional salon within the labyrinth of corridors in the historical lager cellars. Enjoy a relaxing atmosphere while sipping on non-filtered, non-pasteurised Pilsner Urquell beer, produced by the Pilsner Urquell Brewery using a non-traditional method in the historical brewery cellars.

Available technical facilities

Even though the temperature down in the beer cellars is 7°C (an ideal temperature for beer), the šalanda has a pleasant and warm environment.

The small Bednářská (cooper) šalanda accommodates 26 people, and the Large Siberian šalanda up to 50 guests.

Šalanda and its history

The term “šalanda” referred to a room where beer workers ate and rested. The first šalanda was already established in the town brewery in 1844. At the beginning of the 19th century šalandas were built in large numbers for maltsters, stokers, engineers and coopers. The last preserved record of a šalanda dates back to 1946.

Šalandas were used as dining rooms or social rooms. They were fitted with plank beds, sometimes one above the other (bunk beds), a cooker with cooking utensils and a sink for washing dishes. Tables were placed in the middle of the room and cabinets for china and work clothes were positioned around.

Today, the new šalandas built in the cellars of the Pilsner Urquell Brewery are used for fun activities only.

• Unique non-filtered and non-pasteurised Pilsner Urquell beer, which you may only taste when taking the tour or when sitting in a šalanda, is fermented in open oak vats and matures in oak lager barrels. The beer is not filtered and thus retains its yeast, which gives it an unmistakable flavour, aroma and appearance.
• Our cellar masters will bring you beer in three-litre metal tankards tapped directly from larger barrels. That is how beer was served to guests in the early days.
• A pleasant šalanda atmosphere is further enhanced by authentic beer making tools, which were actually used during the beer production. The equipment and furniture in a šalanda was manufactured by a cooper team.