Reconstruction of the Máj department store, March 16, 2023, Prague.
Prague – The reconstruction of the Máj department store in Prague will be completed in the first half of next year and will cost four billion crowns. The appearance of the department store, which is a cultural monument, will be preserved in agreement with the preservationists. The reconstruction is being carried out by the construction company Metrostav, and the demolition work has already been completed. In addition to shops, the new department store will also offer a gallery or a restaurant with a view. This was told to ČTK by Václav Klán, who manages Amádeus Real Estate, which is a developer.
Advertisement'; }
Photogallery
“We would like to open Máj to the public in a modernized form in the first half of 2024. The total costs after the completion of the complete reconstruction will reach four billion crowns,” Klán told ČTK today. According to the chief architect of the project, Milan Mlady, the company also wants to offer people culture and entertainment. The new Máj department store, which after modernization will have nine floors open to the public, will offer, in addition to shops, an expanded gastro area, a gallery, a children's corner or a restaurant with a view.
The final concept of the reconstruction fully preserves the original appearance of the cultural monument including the execution of facade replicas or their color. “Even after the reconstruction, the house will look like it is the original house, it will just have a full-fledged new cladding, except for the facades, which are distinctive,” said ČTK Mlada. He added that the progress of the reconstruction is progressing beyond expectations and almost without complications.
The company stated that it collaborated with the original authors, architects Martin Rajniš and John Eisler, on the Máje reconstruction design. According to the developer, the project also took into account the suggestions of other experts in heritage preservation and urban planning.
The commercial building on the corner of Spálená and Národní was built on the site of the Neo-Gothic Šlik Palace according to the design of Miroslav Masák, John Eisler and Martin Rajniš from the Liberec studio SIAL, which in 1968, the author of Ještědský founded the radio station Karel Hubáček. May opened to customers on April 21, 1975. In 2006, the Ministry of Culture declared the house a cultural monument.
