People could visit the renovated department store Máj for the first time today

Prague – Today, people could for the first time visit the reconstructed Máj department store in the center of Prague, where dozens of people waited for entry in the morning. The heritage-protected building opened to the public after approximately two years of renovations, costing 4.5 billion crowns. Máj offers shops, restaurants, entertainment centers, and a rooftop observation terrace across nine floors. Even before the opening, two several-meter-high moving butterflies by artist David Černý with a fuselage resembling a Spitfire fighter jet on the facade of Máj sparked controversy. The interiors of the entertainment centers on the upper floors of the department store also received criticism from some architects and parts of the public.

The Tesco store and other shops in the first two floors opened in the morning hours, while the Fly Vista restaurant and the Levels gaming department can be visited starting at 12:00.

Tomáš Prouza, President of the Association of Trade and Tourism (SOCR), told ČTK that the Tesco store is tailored to the location in the city center and also to tourists, offering both fresh food and a broader range of ready meals and fast food. "Fresh food right at the entrance, a wider selection of ready and pre-prepared meals, more space for private label products, and a modern airy design of the store," Prouza stated.

People can find the Tesco hypermarket on the ground floor. Restaurants and cafes occupy the first and second floors, which feature approximately 750 seating places. The entertainment center is located on the third and fourth floors. The Levels section will include hundreds of computer arcade games, racing simulators, mini-golf, darts, and billiards.

On the fifth floor, the park Lvíčkov offers entertainment for younger children. The sixth floor will be dedicated to the historical exhibition Back in Time, and fans of superheroes and comics will be able to visit the Heroes Park store on the seventh floor. On the eighth floor, people can go to the Fly Vista restaurant with a view of Prague, and the final, ninth floor features panoramic terraces.

Even before the opening, negative comments appeared based on photos shared on social media, comparing the new interiors of Máj to a casino, a circus, or Las Vegas. "The interiors are terrible; they are a complete contradiction and almost mockery of the original architecture," said architect and architectural historian Zdeněk Lukeš to ČTK. The architects at the time of Máj's creation were inspired by the project of the Paris Museum Centre Georges Pompidou.

Visitors also criticized the appearance of the shopping center. According to some, the interior is too modern and resembles an entertainment center more than a department store. "Once, people could buy anything here; now I feel that when I go looking for children's equipment, I won't find it," said one visitor. Others, on the other hand, appreciate the modern look and praised that the shopping center is keeping up with the times. According to two high school students who came to visit Máj, there was a lack of places in Prague that offered so many entertainment features.

Máj 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. It first opened to customers on April 21, 1975. In 2006, the Ministry of Culture declared the building a cultural monument.

Brothers Václav and Martin Klán, owners of Amadeus Real Estate, which has owned the building since 2019, collaborated with the original building's architects Rajniš and Eisler on the reconstruction. "They were excited because they saw in us someone who wanted to revive Máj," the Klán brothers stated. According to them, each floor in Máj Národní was adapted for different uses. "It had to be constructed in such a way that each concept of the respective floor had its own specific identity. There are several different interpretations that come together into an ideal concept," Václav Klán added.