The town of Znojmo is more famous rather for its wine than for its beer, however, the local tradition of beer brewing is long-standing. The beer has been brewed here since 1278, when the Roman King Rudolf I. granted the town of Znojmo the brewing right and the right of one mile, till 2009, when the production was interrupted. In 2015 the beer production returned here directly into the places of the original brewery in the outer ward of Znojmo Castle, where the beer was brewed almost for 300 years.
The next part of the former brewery area is also utilized in connection with this savoury drink in the form of the exposition of brewing trade as the branch of the National Agricultural Museum. It is situated in the most interesting building of the former brewery area – a brewing house. Its technological equipment from 1930 produced in the Škoda plants in Pilsen forms a heart of exposition and was in 2010 declared the national monument. A visitor can entry into one of the exhibits – decanting vat and have a look at it from inside, where by means of video-sequences a visitor will be acquainted with the history of Znojmo brewery. During the exposition tour a guide will explain to you the tradition and history of the brewing trade in the town of Znojmo and will acquaint you with the principal raw material necessary for the beer production – water, malt and hop.
History
Znojmo Brewery was built in 1720 in the place of the first castle courtyard. The town administered its brewery over 100 years. At first it was very successful, but gradually the town rented the brewery out and unfortunately the frequent turnover of tenants led almost to its downfall. In 1861 a brewer Tomáš Maural purchased the brewery from the town in a dilapidated state and the brewery production started to rise again. Mr. Maural invested not only to the reconstruction, but also he built a modern steam boiler house and cellars. The beer was delivered both to the villages and to the towns in the vicinity of the town of Znojmo, and also to the municipalities in neighbouring Austria.
In 1885 Rudolf Wotzilka founded a new brewery just past the fortification. After the Great War there was no demand for the both breweries (Maural´s and Wotzilka´s) products and they suffered from the existential problems. After the mutual agreement both enterprises merged and the new firm bore the name „First Znojmo Brewery and Malthouse, joint-stock company. “ The flourishing brewery were unfavourably touched by the World War II and in 1947 the brewery was nationalized. It was incorporated into Central Moravia Breweries and in 1960 into Southern Moravia Breweries.
In 1993 the brewery was privatized through the company Hostan. This brand has been inseparably connected with Znojmo beer since the seventies of the 20. century. Hostan is a real historical figure. His name appears in 1363 in “Losunkové knihy” (books involving the names of burghers with the brewing right), where Hostan is stated as one of many burghers, who have the brewing right in the town of Znojmo. The creator of the original logo was an artist from the town of Znojmo Miloslav Smutný.
In 2001 Hostan was purchased by the company Starobrno of the city of Brno and consequently in 2003 both companies passed to the possession of the Heineken Brewery Company, which in 2009 completely moved the beer production from the town of Znojmo to the city of Brno. The brewery area was bought by the town of Znojmo. In 2014 a part of the area was rented by the company Znojmo City Brewery and thus the new history of the beer production in the town of Znojmo started.