The largest department store of the former Czechoslovakia
Kotva Department Store, was ceremoniously opened on 10 February 1975 at the Náměstí Republiky square to become a showcase of the normalization period and a symbol of abundance and wealth. The building with its original dark façade and a honeycomb-like floor plan is made up of several interconnected hexagons. It has five aboveground and five underground floors. The Czech architect couple Věra Machoninová and Vladimir Machonin succeeded in meeting the maximalist requirements for the selling area even on a small lot while staying at the sober level respecting the surrounding historical buildings.

The exceptional character of the Kotva business premises will also be accentuated by the scheduled reconstruction to be implemented by our company that has been the owner of this property since 2016. The purpose of the reconstruction is to create a world-class modern department store, one of its kind in the Czech Republic, that will once again set the trends and pace in life style, culture and fashion.

The Black Pearl of the Brutalist style
The original site of the Roman Church of St.Benedict was developed by Swedish concern SIAB, which has never ceased raising eyebrows. The straightness and rationality of the concept created by the authors of the winning architectural design Věra and Vladimír Machonin are thought of highly to the present day. The concept won the competition organized by the management of the company Obchodní domy Prior.

Zdeněk Lukeš, architecture historian, ranked Kotva Department Store at the top on the list of the works of socialist architecture. In 2018, the Black Pearl of the Brutalist style was listed as a cultural monument. This is also reflected in the planned reconstruction, also approved by the original architect Věra Machoninová. The reconstruction focuses on the revitalization of the façade and the refurbishment of the technological systems, in particular.