ZLÍN

The first written mentioning about Zlín goes back to 1322 when it was acquired by the Queen Elisabeth Rejčka, the widow of the kingWenceslas II. Zlín in those days was feudal holdings which included several surrounding villages.

Zlín remained an insignificant provincial backwater up until the end of the 19th century. A new and more significant era was at the beginning of 1894.

The shoemaking factory, built in Zlín by the Baťa brothers, became the principal mover behind the growth of the entire city. The company built supermarkets, a cinema, houses, hospitals, schools, scientific institutions, film ateliers etc. In the hands of the famous Czech architects such as J. Kotěra, F.L.Gahura, V. Karfík, M. Lorenc Zlín has attained a rare Art Deco face which cannot be seen anywhere else in Europe.

It is not only thanks to its geographical location that today´s eighty thousand Zlín is considered as the natural metropolis of south-eastern Moravia. It has become the centre of the Zlín district. The city has been selected as the principal seat of administrative, cultural and social institutions.

Zlín is the centre of important congresses, principally in the area of medicine.