Bata: Shoes, Shoes and Shoes
Bata means shoes! If you like shoes, you like the Bata store at Wenceslas Square, the biggest Bata shop in Europe. Five floors packed to the rafters with shoes and bags in every imaginable price, style and colour. When in you are in Prague in winter and you forgot to pack sturdy shoes, this shop is the best place to buy snow boots. Bata stands for good quality and the shoe shop of choice for many.
Bata is not only a famous shoe shop; it is also one of the most successful companies in the Czech Republic. In the early twentieth century, the company caused quite a stir with its cheap production on the assembly line and its modern stores.
Bata and Shoes
Bata and shoes go hand in hand. Pop into the Wenceslas Square branch and wend your way slowly up: five floors packed with trendy shoes; from ankle strap pumps to sexy trainers and from stiletto heels to snow boots. Finding a matching bag is no problem as the shop is famous for the large collection in all sizes and colours.
Tomas Bat’a
Tomas Bat’a was a successful Czech entrepreneur of the early 20th century. He was the founder of the Bat’a shoe stores now to be found in almost every country in the world. A large order for sturdy military shoes during World War I started the rapid growth of the company. Today, Bata is one of the largest multinational retailers and manufacturers of footwear.
Tomas Bat’a started his business in the city of Zlin in southeastern Moravia. As the factory expanded, he hired thousands of workers who lived there in large garden districts. Each worker and his family had a small house but without an attic. He was convinced that if people had attics they would start hoarding things, stow them away and never look at them again. All houses had a small garden to grow vegetables.
Bata Building at Wenceslas Square
The minimalistic facade of the store on Wenceslas Square in the heart of Prague was a sensation in 1929 when the building was completed. It is now one of the most beautiful examples of functionalism, a building style in which construction and appearance are decisive for the function of the building.
Address
Bata
Wenceslas Square 6
Prague
Opening Hours
Monday – Saturday 09.00 – 21.00
Sunday 10.00 – 21.00