The Bata Region

Hugo Vavrečka director's villa and La Villa Zlín

The Hugo Vavrečka director's villa is tucked away in a quiet part of Zlín between Jižní Svahy and Mladcová. It is characterized by beautiful architecture in the spirit of Kotěra's modernism, a large garden, and today also the excellent cuisine of the La Villa restaurant, which was awarded one of the first Michelin stars outside Prague in Czechia.

Like other director's villas of Baťa's associates, Hugo Vavrečka's villa is unique in its architecture, character, and location. The villa, set in the middle of a beautiful garden near the forest, became the home of a diplomat, politician, journalist, and director of Baťa's factories. Vavrečka held one of the highest positions at Baťa and thus became one of the main figures in the history of Baťa in Zlín.

Diplomat, minister, and director Hugo Vavrečka

Hugo Vavrečka was born in 1880 in Slezská Ostrava. After studying electrical engineering, he devoted himself to journalism, wrote humorous stories and essays, and worked as a war correspondent in the Balkans. During the First Republic, he held important diplomatic positions and was the Czechoslovak ambassador in Budapest and Vienna. In 1932, he joined the management of the Baťa company, where he was director of economic and diplomatic relations and played a significant role in its foreign expansion. In 1938, he briefly served as Minister of Propaganda in the Czechoslovak government.

After the war and the February coup, he faced persecution by the communist regime and spent the last years of his life in the family home of his daughter. Among other things, he was also the grandfather of Václav and Ivan M. Havel, who spent their holidays in the family villa Na Strážích in Zlín.

Vavrečka had a reputation as a calm strategist with a sense of irony, and he himself used to say that a diplomat without a sense of humor is dangerous. His villa in Zlín reflected this character well—it was not ostentatious, but thoughtful, rational, and focused. Even after the war, when he was silenced as a "bourgeois intellectual," he remained an active observer of the world until the end of his life, because he believed that the worst form of extinction is intellectual inactivity.

Kotěra's inspiration

Hugo Vavrečka and his family lived in Zlín from 1941. He entrusted the design of his family villa on the sloping terrain of the local Mokrá district to Vladimír Karfík, a colleague from the Construction Department of the Baťa company. The villa's appearance was influenced by the work of Jan Kotěra, but also by the builder's own vision. The villa of Josef Hlavnička, another director of the Baťa factories, was built on the neighboring plot, and the two properties were connected by a footpath, reflecting the close relationship between the two families.

Architecturally, the villa combines elements of late functionalist aesthetics with the modernist influences of Jan Kotěra, which the builder originally desired. Although the resulting work represents the robust functionalist style of the 1940s rather than Kotěra's pure expression, it remains an exceptional example of individuality within Baťa's villa construction.

The ground floor of the villa included a spacious entrance hall, a main living room with variable floor levels and access to the terrace, while the upper floor offered sufficient privacy for personal bedrooms. Adjacent to the villa was a utility and service area. The villa's facade, with its stone plinth and sloping roof, creates a visually balanced whole that appears solid and representative.

You can read more about the villa on the Zlín Architectural Manual website.

La Villa: Michelin-starred restaurant in Vavrečkova Villa

After 1946, Vavrečkova vila was nationalized and used as a children's home, school facilities, and administrative offices. A new chapter in the villa's history began when the Varmuž family purchased it.

In 2015, the family entrusted architect Josef Pleskot with its renovation. The farm area was converted into a kitchen and preparation room, the villa was expanded to include a winter garden, and since 2017 it has been welcoming guests as the renowned La Villa restaurant. It is all the more renowned for being one of the first establishments outside Prague to receive a Michelin star in 2025.

The interior, with its original layout, is complemented by the aforementioned winter garden, where you can go for lunch and enjoy a wonderful atmosphere, especially in summer. Dinner is served in an elegant dining room that originally served as a salon. In both cases, you can taste the exquisite gastronomic creations of Július Löffler, who is in charge of the local cuisine. 

Just be sure to make your reservation well in advance. It has been fully booked lately.