

The date that can be considered the historical beginning of the company is Tuesday, July 13, 1869, when the Prague newspapers carried an advertisement announcing the subscription of shares in a new "Joint Stock Brewery in Smíchov". Its construction was planned in a locality that was then a suburb of Prague.
For practical purposes, that constituted the formation of the company that today encompasses the breweries Staropramen and Ostravar.
During World War I, both breweries, along with all other industries, experienced a major crisis.
Prague's economy began to recover in the mid-1920s. Construction began on a new stadium for Sokol meets in Strahov, and residential construction began to pick up as well.