Located in the Old Town district of Prague and situated on Republic Square, Kotva was built between 1970 and 1975 designed by Czech architects, and a married couple, Vera Machoninova and Vladimir Machonin. It was constructed by a Swedish company which was very unusual that time. Its ground plan consists of many interconnected hexagons.

Kotva Department Store is famous for its strange Communist era architecture and for its separate kiosk stores located inside. Kotva was finished in 1975 and consists of an iron and concrete skeleton that is divided into six units giving the building a unique design. Each of these six units features different shops and different spaces but put together form a rather dynamic space. This extraordinary building sticks out in Republic Square as it was built in between historic houses and is neighbored by some of Prague's Art Nouveau masterpieces.