PHOTO GALLERY: Prague gets its 'Hollywood' sign back

The National Museum has returned the restored cast iron memorial plaque honoring French paleontologist Joachim Barrande to the Barrandov Rocks in Prague after six months of restoration.

Removed last November due to corrosion and peeling paint, the plaque was carefully cleaned, repainted, and regilded before being reinstalled with the help of specialists and donors, mirroring the original 1884 effort to place the memorial on the rocks.

"The memorial plaque bearing Barrande's name was installed on the then Chuchelské Rocks by the Natural History Corps of the National Museum 141 years ago as a tribute to the world-renowned paleontologist. Since then, it has become an integral part of this place," said Michal Lukeš, Director General of the National Museum in a press statement.

The plaque’s installation was first proposed in 1883 by Czech writer Jan Neruda and brought to life by Antonín Frič, a leading naturalist at the National Museum. Its creation was supported by Czech and American geologists alike, reflecting Barrande’s international reputation.

The nearly 5-meter-long plaque, set into the limestone cliffs named after Barrande, commemorates the pioneering scientist who revolutionized fossil studies in the Prague region and left a vast collection of specimens to the museum, still on view today.

Barrande, a French engineer turned world-renowned paleontologist, arrived in Bohemia in 1832 and made groundbreaking discoveries in local quarries. Prague's Barrandov district is also home to Barrandov Studios, one of the largest and oldest film studios in Europe, often referred to a the "Hollywood of the East."