Baťov in Otrokovice
The town of Otrokovice is a place full of technical wonders and peculiarities. Its modern part grew in symbiosis with the factory built by Jan Antonin Bata. Start exploring today.
According to Tomas Bata, the city of Zlín was not quite the ideal place for building such a large colossus as the manufacturer had dreamt of. It was cut off from the main roads and cramped in a narrow valley with a limited possibility of expansion. Shortly before his tragic death, he commissioned Jan Antonin Bata to create auxiliary production plants for the Zlín factory.
Our tip
Take a walk around Otrokovice and the factories along the ZAM Otrokovice trail.
The choice fell on a marshy area in the nearby town of Otrokovice. Jan Antonin Bata had the site drained by a unique method of floating soil from the Tresný hill, raising the soil level by up to 4 metres. A factory complex, a workers' colony and service buildings were then built in the area called "Bahňák", following the model of the Zlín factories.
In December 1938, the first boats departed from Baťov to Rohatec, bringing lignite from the mine in Ratíškovice along the 54 km long navigation channel.
On the map of Otrokovice, it is obvious at first glance that the factory was planned to make the most efficient use of the given space and to connect with the planned urban districts with housing and service buildings. The Social House designed by architect Vladimír Karfík and Jan Kašpar was built in 1936 and has remained the landmark of Baťov to this day.
Discover the winding streets between Bata's houses, an abandoned lock with a wharf or technical experiments such as Bata's experimental iron road or the unique Kremer wells for water purification.
Interesting facts
Until 2022, the district was officially called Bahňák. The town council had it renamed Baťov on 1 January 2023.
We recommend
Are you interested in the history of Bata? Check out the website of Ať žije Baťov project, which systematically popularises and maps this district. It also includes the Baťov Museum online. Here you will find photographs, postcards, maps and various objects related.
