The part of the Zlín school will serve as the background for the Tomáš Baťa Memorial

František L. Gahura, Memorial of Tomáš Baťa, Zlín, 1933

Zlín - The Zlin Region will make the space of the secondary school neighboring the Memorial of Tomáš Baťa available for the staff. This was stated today in Zlín by Governor Jiří Čunek (KDU-ČSL) after a joint meeting of the regional and city councils. The city hall started the renovation of the building at the end of last year, and work is currently underway inside. Gradual cleaning of the skeleton should begin within six months, Mayor Miroslav Adámek (STAN) told CTK today.

The building from 1933 is among the most valuable in the regional city, designed by architect František L. Gahura. The memorial commemorates the founder of the shoe empire Tomáš Baťa, who died in an airplane accident in 1932. In the 1950s, the memorial was rebuilt, and as the House of Art, it was used by the Zlín Philharmonic and the regional gallery of fine arts. However, both entities moved to new premises a few years ago, and the building remained closed. The city hall then decided on the renovation of the building and a return to its original purpose.

"The region will allocate about eight million crowns for the space in the secondary school, which will serve as a facility," said Čunek. The facility will be used permanently by the memorial staff.

The construction part of the memorial renovation will cost just under 35 million crowns without VAT. The entire project will cost around 70 million crowns, and there will be a new exhibition in the memorial. The city obtained a grant of 32 million crowns from the Ministry of Culture for the renovation, while the rest will be covered from its budget. The work is expected to take two years.

After reconstruction, the memorial will return to its original form, with the extensions from the 1950s being removed. Iron, concrete, and especially glass will be used in the reconstruction, materials that architect Gahura worked with. The interior of the memorial will be variable, and there will be an airplane, which was also included in the original memorial.