03/04/2026
The Great Baťa and His Zlín! 👞✨
This year we celebrate 150 years since the birth of Tomáš Baťa (1876–1932) who changed the world of footwear and business.
So, let’s take a look at his philosophy!
Baťa promoted the idea of business as a service to the public and emphasized improving employees’ living conditions as well as community development. His approach to management, education, and social responsibility has inspired generations of entrepreneurs around the world. 💼 Baťa’s corporate culture, which expanded to more than 90 countries, became a lasting symbol of Czech ingenuity and an entrepreneurial spirit.
In Zlín, you can learn a lot about Baťa. His statue can be found in front of FAME, right across from the Baťa skyscraper.
Nearby, in the Museum of Southeastern Moravia, there is the exhibition “Baťa Principle: Today’s Imagination, Tomorrow’s Reality.” The exhibition presents the history of the Baťa company from its founding in 1894 up to the nationalization of the Czechoslovak part of the corporation after World War II. About 600 exhibits of exotic, folk, historical, and Baťa footwear are on display, making the collection one of the largest in Europe.
An architectural gem is the Baťa Memorial, where you can find, for example, a model of the Junkers F 13 airplane. It is a replica of the aircraft in which the founder of the footwear empire tragically died on July 12, 1932.
Which ‘Baťa’ places have you already visited? ✅
