The ministry will verify the decision of the conservationists regarding the reconstruction of Máj

Prague - The Ministry of Culture will request a decision from the municipal heritage preservation officials regarding the reconstruction of the heritage-protected Máj department store in Prague. After its evaluation, it will decide on the next steps in this matter. This was stated today to ČTK by the spokesperson of the Ministry of Culture, Michaela Lagronová. The Club for Old Prague is protesting against how the building should look after the reconstruction. The owner of the building claims to be proceeding in accordance with the heritage preservation officials and the authors of Máj, who, unlike at the time of the building's creation in the 70s, will today allow the full realization of their visions.

According to the club, the proposed modifications to the building will fundamentally change its shape and deform the monument in an unacceptable way. The club requests the ministry to revoke the decision of the municipal heritage preservation department.

The Ministry of Culture is the appeal authority for state monument care. It can revoke or confirm the opinion of the municipal heritage preservation officials. "Not only the factual aspects of this matter will need to be evaluated, but also the formal legal facts that are not currently known to us and are crucial for the further steps," explained the spokesperson of the ministry today. She reminded that the building had a significant international impact and it is essential to preserve it in its authentic state, "where the addition of mass, extensions, or annexes can have a fatal impact on its character."

According to the club, the height of Máj should be aligned on the side of Spálená Street to one level with the adjacent Quadrio shopping center, thus the building will be deprived of its unique cascading silhouette, believes the club, which considers such a change to the heritage-protected building unacceptable. By raising the facade of the Máj building to the height of the Quadrio center, according to the club, a street front of monstrous dimensions will emerge on that side of Spálená Street, which has no parallel in the historical core of Prague and certainly does not belong in the territory of Prague's heritage reserve.

Last year, the developer company Amádeus Real became the owner of Máj. According to the owner, Máj urgently needs mainly an upgrade of outdated technologies. The company Máj Národní, which is part of the Amádeus Real group and is responsible for the project of the department store, disagrees with the club's opinion.

"The entire process of reconstruction and completion of the Máj department store is led by the original design team of the building - Martin Rajniš and Johnny Eisler. The living authors of the building have the opportunity to fulfill their authorial visions without the compromises they were forced to make under the conditions of the previous regime," said Karel Samec, a media representative of Amádeus Real, to ČTK.

He stated that the various options and partial solutions for the reconstruction and completion have been repeatedly consulted with the heritage preservation department, with experts in heritage preservation and urbanism, and the matter was assessed by the Institute of Planning and Development of the capital city of Prague. According to him, the binding opinion of the heritage preservation department precisely defines what is subject to the heritage protection of the Máj department store building and also establishes a number of conditions that must be met during the planned reconstruction and completion.