The traveler and writer Miroslav Zikmund spent 70 years in the villa at Niva in Zlín. He furnished it with custom-made furniture and filled it with souvenirs from all over the world. His most favorite place was the study with a large library, which still contains three thousand publications, maps, dictionaries and encyclopedias. Everything now falls under the foundation fund founded by Čestmír Vančura, which opens the house to the public on Sundays.
The foundation is gradually renovating the house, spreading Zikmund’s legacy, managing his book collection and making the villa accessible to the public. “Inside, among other things, there is impeccably preserved original furniture from the 1950s by designer Miroslav Navrátil, which was based on layouts by architect Zdenek Plesník. We also have collection items that Zikmund and Hanzelka brought back from the first and second expeditions, or gifts from friends,” explains the director of the fund, Dagmar Výlupková.
The Czechoslovak traveler’s book collection today numbers 11,000 books, half of which are in the villa. “In almost all of them, you will find Mr. Zikmund’s notes, entries or clippings of thematic articles,” says Výlupková, adding that so far the fund has approximately eight tours a month, always on Sundays. The route leads through the garden and the interior of the villa. In addition to the study, it has a photo chamber, three bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom with a home gym and a common room where Zikmund organized the so-called Meetings on the Skin.
“Since the 70s of the last century, when Miroslav Zikmund and Jiří Hanzelka fell out of favor with the communist regime, the villa came to life primarily with visits by artists, intelligentsia and dissidents. When someone from this group celebrated their birthday, it was customary to let them kneel on a bearskin that the traveler brought from Kamchatka. The birthday boy then had to listen to all the wishes on his knees,” explains the director of the foundation. Among those kneeling were, for example, Václav Havel, Ludvík Vaculík, Jiří Menzel, Miloš Forman or Emil and Dana Zátopk.
The history of the house with a large garden on the slope goes back to 1935. At that time, it was built by Bať’s support fund according to the construction department’s design for the first governor of the Zlín district, Josef Januštík. How the villa changed over time is well described in the Zlín Architectural Manual. It explains, among other things, why it was different from the classic houses in Bať from the beginning, and also invites you to other architectural gems in the city.
Take a look inside the house of a passionate traveler with us.
