The Zlín villa of traveler Zikmund will open to the public

Zlín – The villa of traveler Miroslav Zikmund in Zlín, which is a cultural monument, will be accessible to the public. Zikmund will celebrate his 102nd birthday on Sunday, and on that day, the Zikmund Villa Foundation, which will take care of the property, will symbolically begin its activities. The chairman of the foundation and the new owner of the villa is Zlín entrepreneur Čestmír Vančura, who is also the president of the Zlín Film Festival.

"The mission of the foundation is, in addition to the necessary reconstruction of the villa, its furnishings, and garden, also to gradually make the site accessible to both professional and lay public, as well as to organize educational, cultural, and representative events," Vančura told reporters at the villa today. "We want to raise awareness of the legacy of Miroslav Zikmund's work, but also of the fascinating history of the house, which is connected with the history of our city and with its first residents, Josef Januštík and Elmar Klos, as well as its architects, builders, and famous visitors," Vančura stated.

According to architect Petr Všetečka, the house should remain in the form in which it was occupied by the traveler. "Everyday life should be apparent; a person should feel like they are on a visit, not in a museum," Všetečka stated. The intended visitor center in the basement should mainly serve the public.

Originally a functionalist house, it was built between 1933 and 1935 by the Baťa company for Zlín's district governor and government advisor Josef Januštík. Zikmund bought the house in 1953. The villa's appearance has hardly changed in 70 years; the interior contains thousands of books and hundreds of items collected from travels around the world. The property also served for many years as a refuge for artists, writers, and dissidents.

The costs associated with the renovation of the property will be around 20 million Czech crowns. The first visitors could come to the villa next year; however, the date may be postponed due to the COVID epidemic. "We want to use the period until the house is open to the public for inventorying and gradually digitizing materials that are part of the villa, as well as some projects we are planning," said the director of the foundation, Magdaléna Hladká.

Zikmund still has permanent residency in the villa. "I believe that Zikmund's villa will connect and attract not only those interested in travel but also in architecture, art, and culture in general. And hopefully, it will also achieve perhaps the most important thing: that the knowledge from my life and from my joint work with Jirka Hanzelka, supported by friendship and respect, will contribute to a better life for Zlín and our society," Zikmund stated.