In Zlín, Čiper's villa has reopened after reconstruction, creating a cultural center

Zlín – Today, after a year and a half long reconstruction, Čipera Villa from 1942 was opened in Zlín. It has become the Cultural and Creative Center of the Zlín Region and an exhibition dedicated to Dominik Čipera, the former director of Baťa company, Zlín's mayor, and Czechoslovak minister. The investor of the renovation was the Zlín Region, which owns the villa. The total costs reached 202 million crowns, of which 100 million was covered by a grant from the National Recovery Plan.

The public will be able to visit the villa for the first time on Saturday, February 28. The first major event will be the third annual gastro festival "Tastes of the Zlín Region" on April 25.

"Čipera Villa begins a new era not only architecturally, in terms of complementing the buildings that remained here after Baťa and his era, but mainly in the content that we will expect from this building. It is meant to be a place for meetings, for initiating collaboration, sharing very good products, not only those but also companies in our region. I believe it will also be a space for international meetings," said Governor Radim Holiš (ANO).

The villa now has a new roof and facade after renovation, and workers uncovered and renovated the original parquet floors in the interior. Stone and wooden elements were also restored. The original wooden box windows returned to their places. The renovation included the garden, terrace, gardener's house, and outdoor storage. Classrooms and an educational center have been created in the villa, where educational workshops and artistic or craft symposiums will be held. The operation of the cultural and creative center will be managed by the regional contributory organization 14/15 Baťa Institute.

"In addition to events for the public, we offer creative workshops for kindergartens and elementary schools. The representative halls will serve for conferences or ceremonial events. The villa will be a place for culture, creativity, and meetings," said the director of the Baťa Institute, Lucie Pluhařová. The villa also features an exhibition dedicated to Čipera, his family, and villa and apartment construction in Zlín. Its guarantor and operator will be the Regional Gallery of Fine Arts in Zlín.

"People will see an exhibition about who Dominik Čipera was and what his office looked like, how their living arrangements were. On the first floor, there are two sections, one dedicated to the life of Dominik Čipera and his fate and how significant he was for Zlín, showing that he was indeed the right hand of Tomáš Baťa. The second part is dedicated to living in Zlín, interwar housing in Zlín, and villa construction. It shows how the Čipers lived, where they started, and where they lived before this villa was built. The last part is dedicated to the villa itself and its construction," said Ladislava Horňáková from the regional gallery today to ČTK.

The Čipera family had to leave the villa after 1945. Since 1947, the building served as a children's home, and until recently, it housed a facility for children in need of immediate assistance. In 2002, the villa and garden were listed as immovable cultural monuments. Today, the reconstructed villa was also viewed by Čipera's granddaughters. One of the granddaughters, Michelle Čipera, praised the renovation. "It is open to people. The space is excellently utilized," Čipera said.