Barrandov Studios

Czech film history is closely connected with that of Prague's entrepreneurial Havel family, and especially with the activities of the brothers Miloš Havel (1899–1968) and Václav Maria Havel (1897–1979), the latter being the father of the former Czech president of the same name.

In 1921, Miloš Havel created the A-B Joint Stock Company by merging his own American Film distribution company with the Biografia film distributors. Initially, A-B studios were located in the garden of a Vinohrady brewery. However, with the emerging sound film, new modern stages equipped for sound recording had to be built. In early 1930s, Havel's brother, Václav, planned to build a luxurious residential complex on a hill on what were then the outskirts of Prague. Miloš Havel had suggested that he include a modern film studio in the development. The area would be called Barrandov after Joachim Barrande, the French geologist who had worked at the fossil-rich site in the 19th century. Since then, Barrandov Rock displays a plaque with Barrande's name.

Construction of the studio, based on designs by Max Urban, began on 28 November 1931 and was completed in 1933. One year later, Barrandov's first Czech film, Murder on Ostrovni Street, was shot there. The volume of films made at the studio increased rapidly. Barrandov had three hundred permanent employees, was making up to eighty films a year, and had begun to attract foreign producers. It was the best-equipped studio in Central Europe, and in its early years, foreign production companies such as UFA, MGM, and Paramount developed their own distribution systems in Czechoslovakia thanks to Barrandov.

During the occupation of Czechoslovakia by Nazi Germany during World War II, between 1940 and 1945, major additions were made to the studio's facilities. Seeking to make Barrandov an equal to the major film studios in Berlin and Munich, the Nazis drew up plans for three large interconnecting stages. Construction work started in 1941, but the final stage was not completed until early 1945. These three huge stages, with more than 37,000 square feet (3,400 m2) of shooting space, still form the main attraction of the studios to filmmakers throughout the world.

Shortly after the war, Barrandov and its smaller sister, Hostivař Studios, were nationalized and remained under state ownership until the beginning of the 1990s. During this time, Barrandov's new film laboratories were constructed, as was a special effects stage with a back projection tunnel and a water tank equipped for underwater shooting.