The Krkonoše Museum in Vrchlabí was founded in 1883 by the Austrian Krkonoše Association and has been housed in a former Augustinian monastery since 1966. Ecclesiastical architecture does not lend itself well to contemporary museum exhibitions. The recent renovation therefore required a highly sensitive approach—one that would preserve the monastery’s architectural and historical value, while carving out space for a contemporary retelling of the story of the mountains. To accommodate a lecture hall, museum shop, elevator, and visitor facilities, a new concrete entrance structure was added—its form evoking a rugged rock formation. The entire visitor route has been reorganized, too. The cloister garth plays a unique role, both in the exhibition and in the monastery’s architecture, symbolizing the Earth’s connection to the Universe and its spiritual essence.

Back in the 1920s, architect Leopold Bauer described the department store as the cornerstone of public life—a space where culture, fashion, and education converged. His vision went on to inspire numerous department store projects. In recent decades, however, many of these buildings have suffered neglect, marginalization, and, subsequently, a functional and material decline—marked by vacancies, disorder, and in some cases, demolition.

In 2026, Trenčín will become the European Capital of Culture. One of the systemic decisions the City Hall has made in connection to this was to establish the position of the City Curator, a specialised custodian of city public spaces under the City Hall’s Department of Spatial Planning. So far, Trnava has been the only city in Slovakia that has its own city curator. In a conversation with Omar Mirza, we discuss what his new job entails, how successful he has been in promoting public participation and what he has achieved in his first year in Trenčín.