Bat'a Shoe Museum - Museums and galleries in the Czech Republic 2.

Location: Zlín, East Moravia 

The museum is located in the entrance building of the former Tomas Baťa factory in the central part of the Zlín city (the Czech shoemaking capital) centre. The original collection (collected by the Baťa family, and the purchasing agents) was first presented to the public in 1931, so the this collection is one of the oldest shoe collection in the world. In 2012 the shoe exhibition is a part of the Southeast Moravian Museum, and its home, the Baťa Institute Building 14/15 was totally renewed, and modernised.

The Shoe Museum presents over 4000 exhibits and tell the history of shoes from the very beginning to present times. The most extensive and comprehensive collection in the museum deals with shoes manufactured by the Baťa company. The collection includes production from the year 1894 (foundation of the factory), until nationalisation in 1945. Beside that a quite unique collection of footwear from various foreign nations can be seen. It contains different types of footwear coming from all continents. Textile slippers from a feudal China, Ataman boots from 1911, African sandals, footwears from India, and sandals made of emu feather and human hair (used in ritual ceremonies in Australia). 

The collection also reflects footwear development from the earliest periods (shoe replicas) of the Czech history up to the present days. The replicas are made in Baťa modelling department according to original pictures and patterns. They received their names according to the presumed owners, so we can see a replica of a riding boot of King Wenceslas, high boots owned by Albrecht von Waldstein (Wallenstein), Božena Němcová's textile ankle-boots and elastic-sided shoes worn by Bedřich Smetana. The oldest original footwear dates back to the first half of the 17th century. Beside the beautiful shoes the visitors can also get a detailed overwiew about the development of the Baťa company, and city of Zlín.