Barrandov Terrace

Barrandov Terrace is one of the best examples of Functionalist architecture, not only in Prague but also in the whole Czech Republic. And that is why it is so unbelievably sad that the building sits perched above the flowing Vltava River in a total state of decay. The building opened in 1929 as a restaurant, cafe and lounge, complete with a swimming pool and seductively curving white balconies for the nearby stars of Barrandov Studios. Barrandov Studios was the European answer to the Hollywood glamour of the 1920s that was blossoming across the pond as the quality and glamour of the films produced at Barrandov Studios surely rivaled that of Hollywood at the time. The structure itself was inspired by the Cliff House pavilion restaurant in San Francisco, visited in 1924 by Vaclav Havel (father of former president Vaclav Havel). Havel hired architect Max Urban to design Barrandov Terrace, as he had designed the neighboring Barrandov Studios. The once grand, now derelict building was neglected and closed during the Communist era, however the building was returned to the Havel family after the fall of the Iron Curtain. The damage done was so extreme that the building has been abandoned for years, an empty shell of its former grandiose self. Terasy Barrondov a.s. has purchased Barrandov Terrace from the Havel family and has promised to reconstruct it according to the vision of Max Urban. The reconstruction has yet to begin.

Barrandov, Praha 5.