The Bata Region

Vsetín Castle

What does the Vsetín Castel have in common with the Bata family? In 1938, Marie Bata bought it from the family of the manufacturer Michael Thonet. Like him, she saw Vsetín as a great source of wood. She had the Vsetín Castle modernised and she spent a lot of time there with her son Tomas.

Marie Bata came from a Viennese family of factory owners and married Tomas Bata in 1912. Mrs. Bata took care of the household, was a great cook and pastry-cook, but above all, she was a great support to her husband, a bright observer and advisor.

She bought the Vsetín Castle in 1938, six years after her husband Tomas had passed away. She started to modernise the castle, ordered representative equipment and managed the woods that belonged to the castle and soon became a source of material for Bata's factories.

During the war, Marie Bata tried to prevent the Germans from taking over the entire company, and therefore did not follow her son into exile in Canada. Instead, she supported the victims of Nazi persecution and helped families affected by the war. However after 1945, she was driven out of her homeland by the Communist pressure. The family properties, including the Vsetín Castle, were confiscated and further managed by the state.

In 1989, the castle was returned to the family of Tomas Bata Jr., who immediately donated it to the town of Vsetín.

Nowadays, the castle houses the Wallachian Regional Museum. All year round, there are exhibitions about history, fine arts, ethnography, biology and other scientific perspectives of Wallachia. One of the main attractions is the permanent exhibition "Living Memory of the Region", which shows to visitors local history, traditions and other specifics of Wallachia. Very popular is also the Templar cellar with a special room for the knights or the natural science exposition in the tower, where you can find the Bečva River Aquarium with live fish or the famous stuffed Míša bear from Brodská.

The castle houses a library with scientific literature and regional media, which is open to the public. A number of traditional events are held there every year.