The Loděnka education centre is being built at Olomouc Zoo, with a deep-water marine aquarium that is to be the largest in the Czech Republic.
The Loděnka education centre is under construction at Olomouc Zoo in Olomouc; its main part will be a deep-water marine aquarium. According to the Czech News Agency, it is to be the largest aquarium of its kind in the Czech Republic. Construction began in March 2026 and is to be completed in 2028 [1][2].
The aquarium
The tank is to be 9.3 metres high with a volume of about 350,000 litres; the water surface is to reach a height of roughly 6.5 metres. Visitors will observe the animals through an acrylic window 14 centimetres thick, 8.5 metres wide and three metres high, and through a smaller round window on the front side. Sharks, rays and other marine fish are to live in the water, for example the bonnethead shark and a ray with the Czech name rejnok siba ománská. Zoo director Radomír Habáň said that the zoo has long kept marine aquarium animals and wanted to raise this activity to a higher level. For maintenance he will occasionally dive into the tank; according to him, the zoo is waiting for the rules for occupational diving that are being prepared [1][2].
The building and education
Loděnka is a single-storey building whose shape is based on the marine cephalopod, the nautilus (Czech: loděnka), after which it is named. Besides the aquarium it will contain two classrooms for 30 pupils and a lecture hall for about one hundred people. According to Habáň, part of the educational activities has so far taken place outdoors. In 2025 the zoo prepared 140 educational programmes for 115 schools and ran suburban summer camps for 233 children [1][2].
State of construction and costs
According to Radim Vanek, a member of the board of the construction company Hroší stavby Morava, the shell construction of the reinforced-concrete structure was under way as of 30 September 2026, and the special glazing for the aquarium was due to arrive from abroad in about a month. Since spring roughly 80 percent of the foundations have been built [1][2].
The total cost is 72.2 million crowns including VAT. A subsidy from the Integrated Regional Operational Programme may cover up to 28 million crowns, with the remainder paid by the city of Olomouc [1][2].
Related articles: Olomouc
Chronology
- — A deep-sea aquarium is being built at the zoo in Olomouc and is meant to be the largest in Czechia. iDNES.cz Hanácká Drbna
Sources
- iDNES.cz — 30 September 2026
- Hanácká Drbna — 1 October 2026