The decade before the outbreak of the Second World War marked the period of the greatest expansion of the Baťa concern. Even before 1930, its management had set the goal of building independent production units outside the home city. The first of these began to take shape, quite logically, as early as 1930 in nearby Otrokovice. Baťa satellites settlements did not merely create new job opportunities and self-contained, progressive urban complexes of a high civilisational standard in the places where they were established, but they also introduced a new concept of life and work, along with an ethic of interpersonal relations, production and entrepreneurship embodied by the so-called Baťováci – people trained in the company’s unique institutions and professionally shaped in the Baťa factories in Zlín, in the spirit of the ethics and aesthetics of the modern Zlín environment.
Many of the Baťa satellites were founded by Jan Antonín Baťa, the younger half-brother of Tomáš Baťa.
The opening photograph shows the Baťa satellite settlement in Svit, Slovakia (City of Svit archive).
Otrokovice (Baťov) – the site for the factory and the residential area Bahňák was chosen about 12 km from Zlín, by the Morava River, near the Přerov-Břeclav main railway line and close to the main road from Zlín. Construction began in 1930. Otrokovice primarily housed auxiliary and preparatory operations – tanneries, drying rooms, dye works and leather-finishing plants, a glue factory, soap works, paper mills and others.
Napajedla – chemical works were established near Zlín on the left bank of the Morava River, close to major transport routes. Construction of a factory producing gas masks, technical rubber, toys and plastic raincoats began in 1935. This marked the beginning of the history of Fatra, a company that continues to operate to this day.
Sezimovo Ústí (Velký Dvůr) – construction of engineering works and a foundry producing machine tools and components began here in 1939. Today, a large proportion of the population of Sezimovo Ústí, Tábor and the surrounding area is employed by Kovosvit MAS, which is based on the site.
Třebíč (Borovina) – a factory producing footwear and hosiery was established in the South Moravian region, in the Jaroměřice basin by the Jihlava River, on the outskirts of the historic town of Třebíč. Tomáš Baťa purchased land with an existing tannery from Baron Budišovský and built a factory complex here between 1935 and 1940. The site is currently unused, but plans are underway to transform it into a modern urban district. The area could potentially contain housing, offices, leisure facilities or small-scale production.
Zruč nad Sázavou – the factory and residential area are located in the Želiv hills. Construction of shoe factories began here in 1939 and the enterprise was nationalised in 1945. It later became an engineering plant for footwear and leather production and, in 1949, an independent company named Sázavan. In the post-war period, the overall urban plan was insensitively disrupted by the construction of commercial and cultural centres and a prefabricated housing estate. Only fragments of the original urban plan remained. The factory was closed in 1998.
Partizánske (Baťovany) – in 1938, the Baťa company purchased a large estate with a distillery from E. Salzberger. Construction of a new factory and residential district began. Together with the nearby tannery in Bošany, the plants were intended to form a large integrated complex, covering the entire process from raw material processing to footwear production. They later became the centre of the Slovak footwear industry. Today, only a small fraction of the site’s capacity is devoted to shoe production. Despite this, the town has retained the character of an original Baťa settlement.
Svit (Batizovce) – construction of a synthetic fibre factory and a housing estate began here in 1934. In 1945, production here began to expand, and two separate enterprises were established: Tatrasvit, producing knitwear and hosiery, and Chemosvit, producing chemical fibres, cellophane and artificial staple fibres. In 1946, the Svit housing estate became an independent municipality.
Nové Zámky – in 1931, Tomáš Baťa purchased and expanded a local leather-processing factory. In 1932, he founded the Nové Zámky airport.
Bošany – in 1931, the Baťa company acquired a leather-processing factory here, and construction of new production buildings and a housing estate began the same year. The factory is currently closed.
Hellcourt (Bataville) – construction of the factory and residential area began in 1933. The factory is still engaged in footwear production today.
Vukovar (Borovo Naselje) – the factory and residential area are located between Osijek and Novi Sad on the banks of the Danube River. Construction of the factory and housing estate began in 1932, and by mid-year production was already underway.
Kolkata (Batanagar), Bataganj – to this day, leather-processing plants of Bata India Ltd. operate here; the company was founded in 1931 and is now part of the global Bata Shoe Organisation, which has been managed successively from Zlín, London, Toronto and now Switzerland.
Batawa – the town was built in the vicinity of the small town of Trenton. Thanks to its advanced engineering industry, it supported the Allied armaments industry during the Second World War and later supplied Baťa factories around the world with production machinery, thereby substituting even for Zlín, which at that time was under communist control.
Tiszaföldvár (Martfü) – the shoe factory and housing estate were only built here during the Second World War (construction began in 1941 and ended in 1945) near the town of Tiszaföldvár on the Tisza River.
Best (Batadorp) – the factory was built in the south of the Netherlands, in North Brabant, adjacent to the city of Eindhoven, near the Maas Canal and a major transport route. Construction of the factory buildings and the housing estate began here in 1933.
Chełmek – a shoe factory was built near the town of Auschwitz, later tragically infamous, on the Vistula River. Construction began in 1933, and the factory represented a major economic benefit for the poor agricultural region. However, from the very beginning there were problems with establishing and developing production due to a lack of qualified industrial labour, as the local population was exclusively agricultural in character.
Krapkowice (formerly Ottmuth) – the first phase of construction of the factory and housing estate took place here between 1931 and 1933. In 1948, the factory was nationalised.
Tilbury (East Tilbury) – the site for the factory and housing estate was selected on the outskirts of London. Construction of the factory and housing estate, based on the regulatory plans of Vladimír Karfík, began in 1933. The types of houses were similar to those in Zlín, while the internal layout was adapted to British requirements. Each block had an internal playground for children.
Switzerland
Möhlin – the factory and housing estate were built near the north-western border near Basel, a lively commercial centre, as part of the municipality of Möhlin. Nearby were the Rhine River and a large port, a railway line, a transport junction and an airport. Construction began here in 1932. In addition to architects and builders from the Zlín Construction Joint-Stock Company, architect Hannibal Naef was also involved in the projects. Construction in Möhlin was overseen by the architect Fackenberg.
Belcamp – shortly before the war, Baťa employees began transforming a small settlement in the state of Maryland into an industrial complex of considerable importance. Although it struggled with a shortage of raw materials during the war, it continued to supply American retail stores for a long time after the war.
Belgium – Seneffe
Brazil – Anaurilândia, Batatuba, Batayporã, Bataguassu, Mariapolis, Indiana SP
Chile – Peñaflor
Italy – Veca
Pakistan – Batapur
Indonesia – Batavia
Sources used:
Ludvík Ševeček, Ladislava Horňáková – Satellites of Functionalist Zlín
websites www.batastory.net and www.staryzlin.cz
A lot of other information about ‘Baťa towns’ can be found on the Baťa's World portal.
Subscribe to the newsletter
Register your e-mail address to receive regular information from our website
Back
