The Ministry is assessing whether Kotva will become a monument like Máj

Prague - The Ministry of Culture has initiated proceedings to declare the Prague department store Kotva a cultural monument. How long the proceedings may take and whether the known building at Republic Square will be classified as monument-protected at the end is unclear. Among comparable structures from the same period, the Máj department store in Prague has been declared a monument. The Ještěd department store in Liberec, from the same architectural studio SIAL, however, did not receive state protection and was demolished for a new construction.

An attempt to register Kotva on the list of monuments has already been made once. In 2007, architectural historian Rostislav Švácha proposed it, but unsuccessfully. On the other hand, his efforts to register Máj were successful. "The proceedings to declare the Kotva department store was initiated in September, and is now proceeding through standard channels," said Simona Cigánková, spokesperson for the Ministry of Culture, to ČTK. Kotva was built between 1970 and 1975, and upon its opening, it was one of the largest department stores in Europe. It is considered one of the most interesting Czechoslovak buildings of the 1970s. Its floor plan resembles a beehive and consists of several interlocking hexagons. The building was designed by the husband-and-wife team Věra and Vladimír Machonin.

The office is currently also assessing the potential monument protection of structures known collectively as Transgas on Vinohradská Street in Prague. Their current owner wants to demolish the buildings designed in the brutalist style to construct an office building in their place. The ministry is also dealing with the case of the Libeň Bridge, in which case it is waiting for additional documentation regarding the technical state of the bridge, the spokesperson stated.

In contrast, the case of the Omnipol building in Prague on Nekázanka Street, which is undergoing extensive reconstruction, ended with a refusal to declare the structure a cultural monument. The proceedings were decided this way in July despite the fact that the National Heritage Institute deemed the proposed works inadmissible. However, the heritage department of the Prague magistrate granted permission for the reconstruction last year. Prague conservators state that the change of the building's façade will not disrupt the values of the heritage reserve. At the same time, they believe that the building does not meet the criteria for declaration as a monument.

Art historian Mojmír Horyna described the building by Zdeněk Kuna, Zdeněk Stupka, Milan Valenta, and Jaroslav Zdražil as one of the few quality modern buildings in the historic center of Prague. Kerrigan Trade plans to, among other things, enlarge the building volume and completely change the façade, replacing the light glass envelope with blinds.

The Ministry of Culture is also addressing another structure by the Machonin couple, the Thermal hotel complex in Karlovy Vary. According to the ministry, the proceedings to declare the structure a cultural monument were initiated on September 13. The state, which owns the hotel built for hosting the international film festival, wants to renovate the building. If the hotel were to become a monument, all works would need to be carried out in cooperation with heritage professionals. Following a decline in Russian guests, the hotel is seeking clientele; last year it had a profit of 3.2 million crowns, which is 5.5 million crowns less than the year before last.