Žatec and the Landscape of Saaz Hops Historical Site

Address: Žatec (Saaz) and surrounding hop-growing landscape, Ústí nad Labem Region, Czech Republic

Website: https://whc.unesco.org

Hours: Town and landscape open year-round; specific museums and breweries have site hours

Admission: Free (landscape and town access; tour fees may apply for brewery visits)

A cultural landscape in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic centred on the town of Žatec and surrounding fields where the Saaz (Saaz/Žatec) hop variety has been cultivated for centuries. The area is known for its hop gardens, drying houses and historic processing infrastructure tied to beer production.

The landscape combines dense rectangular hop fields, traditional hop-drying buildings, and the medieval town fabric of Žatec with its trade and processing facilities. The locally adapted agricultural layout and built structures illustrate long-term hop cultivation and associated rural economies.

Hop growing in the Žatec area developed over many centuries and the Saaz hop variety became widely used in brewing for its aromatic qualities. The town and landscape evolved around cultivation, processing and trade in hops.

The site sits in northwestern Bohemia on the Ohře River in the Ústí nad Labem administrative region of the Czech Republic, with Žatec as the focal historic town within the hop-growing plain.

• Harvest season and festival: An annual hops festival in late summer celebrates the harvest and traditional hop-drying; August is the typical harvest month for the region.

What to See#

• Žatec town: Town of **Žatec** (Saaz)
• Hop fields: Extensive hop fields and cultivated landscape where the Saaz hop variety is grown
• Drying houses and processing sites: Hop-drying houses and processing facilities involved in traditional hop production

Žatec is about 90 km northwest of Prague by road; regional trains and buses serve Žatec from Prague and nearby Ústí nad Labem. Local cycling routes allow exploration of hop fields in season.

• Visit Žatec (Saaz) hop museum and the local hop houses (chmelnice) to understand traditional drying kilns (hop houses) and regional brewing history.
• If visiting during harvest (late August), book accommodation early-harvest involves many seasonal workers and local events.
• Cycle between fields in late spring to see the hop bines climbing trellises; the visual field is unlike most crops.