The renovated Tomáš Baťa Memorial in Zlín will open on October 28

The building, dating from 1933, is among the most valuable in the regional city, designed by architect František L. Gahura. The memorial commemorated Tomáš Baťa; it was renovated in the 1950s and was used as the House of Art 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 to restore the building and return it to its original purpose. The reconstruction began at the end of 2016.

The appearance of the building has returned to its 1930s form. "Its facade consists of nearly a thousand glass panels measuring 90 by 150 centimeters, the interior is styled in the tricolor, the floors are red, the inner wall of the staircase is blue, and the columns and ceilings are white. A scale model of a Junkers F 13 aircraft, in which Tomáš Baťa, the founder of the famous shoemaking empire, lost his life in 1932, will also return. The model will be built to a 1:1 scale, differing from the original only in that it will not have an engine and passenger interior," the spokesman said. The machine is expected to be completed by April next year.

The renovated memorial will be open on October 28 from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and entry will be free. "Visitors can expect an extraordinary experience heightened by the fact that we are commemorating the hundredth anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia these days," said Mayor Miroslav Adámek (STAN). People will also be able to view Tomáš Baťa's pocket watch, a part of a propeller, and a shard of glass.

The restoration of the memorial cost over 50 million crowns, with 32 million crowns covered by a grant from the Ministry of Culture, and the rest provided by the city from its budget. Companies and the public contributed a total of 600,000 crowns through a collection.