"Hello Zlín, you're a stupid head!" - Ten Tumultuous Years in South East Moravia
The word Zlín probably doesn’t mean much for anyone beyond the Czech borders, but it’s an important city within the wider framework of the country’s history. Known by the German name of Gottwaldov until as recently as 1989, it’s always been something of an industrial epicentre for Moravia and beyond, particularly with regard to shoe making. After all, it’s the birthplace of iconic entrepreneur Tomáš Baťa, founder of the Bata shoe company. I’ve always thought of it as the Northampton of the Czech Republic for that reason, but that does the town a disservice. It’s incredibly distinct compared to some of the other towns and cities in the country, even those nearby, which in many cases cannot be distinguished due to the influence of communism on the country. Zlín somehow breaks this mould with its unique almost American or Canadian modernity. A recent visit for a Tipsport Liga fixture between Zlín and Zbrojovka (a 2-1 away win) inspired this blog, having been a couple of times now, a...