In June, the reconstruction of the Máj department store will begin, lasting a year and a half

Prague – In June, the reconstruction of the Máj department store on Prague's Národní street will begin. The renovation, which is expected to preserve the appearance of the building and restore some interior elements, will last about a year and a half and will cost over a billion crowns. From May 16, Máj will be closed to the public. Representatives of the development company Amádeus Real, which owns the department store, informed ČTK about this today. The company stated that it has a valid building permit.

Earlier plans for the reconstruction of Máj, which is a cultural monument, were criticized two years ago by the Club for Old Prague. At that time, they stated that the proposed changes would fundamentally alter the shape of the building and inappropriately deform the monument. The developer now states that, in agreement with the heritage conservationists, it will preserve the appearance of the building and restore, for example, the exposed ceiling soffits on each floor.

The reconstruction will begin 50 years after the start of construction of the department store in 1972 and will last about a year and a half. It is expected to reopen to the public at the end of next year.

"The entire ground floor and first floor will close on April 30, and from May 1, it will no longer be possible to enter the Máj department store from Národní street and pass through the arcade. The retail spaces of Teska will still be accessible until May 15. Starting from May 16, all entrances to the department store will be closed,” said Václav Klán Jr. from Amádeus Real. According to him, the clearing work will last about three weeks, after which the contractor, currently being selected by the development company, will take over the building.

Amádeus Real, owned by the Klán family from Prague, stated that it collaborated with the original authors, architects Martin Rajniš and John Eisler, on the design of the reconstruction of Máj. According to the developer, the project has taken into account the suggestions of other experts in heritage preservation and urbanism.

"We believe that its final form after modernization well combines our original idea while also being a positive step forward. It simply isn't possible to freeze the entire state at the level of 50 years ago. We believe that the public will like it after the reopening,” stated architect Rajniš.

The department store at 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, founded in 1968 by Karel Hubáček, the creator of the Ještěd transmitter. Máj opened for customers on April 21, 1975. In 2006, the Ministry of Culture declared the building a cultural monument.