The exhibition in Olomouc presents the architecture of the Priors from the 1960s and 1970s

Olomouc - The exhibition "Kotvy Máje Priory" presents the fifteen most significant Czech department stores, whose designs and realizations played a role in Czech architecture of the 1960s and 1970s, starting today in Olomouc. The week-long residential exhibition is organized by members of the association "Za krásnou Olomouc." Expert lectures will accompany the exhibition throughout the week. They will also address the controversial Olomouc Prior, which is currently undergoing extensive reconstruction. This was informed by Alexandr Jeništa, a representative of the association.
    The exhibition was first presented to the public last year at the VŠUP Gallery in Prague. "In the Olomouc context, special attention - and a corresponding part of the exhibition - is devoted to the local Prior building. Therefore, the exhibition Kotvy Máje has the expanded title Kotvy Máje Priory," Jeništa stated. The Olomouc Prior, which is one of the most controversial buildings in the historical center of the city, is attracting significant attention these days. The department store closed in February this year and is undergoing a major reconstruction costing approximately 150 million crowns, with only the skeleton of the building remaining. The renovation will transform it into a modern shopping gallery named Moritz.
    Exhibition visitors can not only familiarize themselves with the most famous objects like Kotvy or Máje, but also gain information about regional department stores in Pardubice, Ústí nad Labem, and Plzeň. "Alongside full-range Priors, the House of Housing Culture in Prague, Hradec Králové's Don specializing in fashion and accessories, the largest houses of production and consumer cooperatives, and the now non-existent Liberec shopping center Ještěd also have their place," Jeništa added.
    One of the project's goals, which includes not only the exhibition but also a publication of the same name, is to show the range of approaches to addressing the role of the department store in the then Czechoslovakia. Experts intend to characterize current architectural trends using selected objects for interested parties.
    The Olomouc exhibition is accompanied by lectures from architects, which will be supplemented by perspectives from a sociologist or psychologist. Valuable testimonies will be given by eyewitnesses in a debate with architecture historian Rostislav Švách. Visitors can find a detailed program at www.krasnaolomouc.cz.