Derelict shopfront, Minoritská 472/8, Brno, Czechia, 2026

On the ground floor of this building lies a womenswear shop, presumably defunct, covered in graffiti. Looking back at old Street View imagery, the condition of the building began to deteriorate around 2011, which is surprising as I found other buildings around this one to be clean – so perhaps it’s just a lack of maintenance that has allowed this one to languish.

The floors above the shop are actually very presentable. The Brno Architecture Manual, where the building is listed as the apartment building of Charlotte Deutsch, designed by Maximilian Leopold Matzenauer and built in 1904, notes the “facade is adorned with rich stucco Art Nouveau decoration”. The grape motifs perhaps relate to the Deutsch family distillery, which itself has recently been converted into shared offices and spaces for cultural and educational events.

The note above the door, presumably penned by the disgruntled residents of the apartments above, leaves no room for doubt: “This is not a toilet! Stop pissing and shitting here!”