Zarámí Street

Zarámí Street belongs to the oldest core of medieval Zlín. At first it served only as a path between the gardens belonging to the houses on the north side of the square. In the east, it starts at the intersection with Dlouhá Street and heads west, where it connects to Vodní Street. This is one of the oldest streets in Zlín with a preserved name that has never changed. It first appears in written sources in 1644 in the form of Za ramy (meaning beyond tenters). This refers to the original purpose of the space, where the drying of canvas on tenters took place.

The intersection of Dlouhá, Kvítková and Zarámí streets traditionally served as a place for livestock markets. On the cadastral map from 1829, it is evident that this place fit the purpose, as the extended area at the beginning of Zaramí created a small square. At the same time, tolls (mýto) were collected in this place, which was commemorated by the name of the inn Na Mýtě (later renamed Na Rožku). In terms of communication, the street area was defined by the lower (Panský, later Juříčkův) mill located on the drive passing through this part of the city. From the northwest corner of the square, a short Mlýnská Lane ran towards Zaramí. At the beginning of the 19th century, most of the southern side of Zarámí was still unbuilt, as it served only as exits from the gardens and backyards in the square and in today's Bartošová Street. The northern side of Zarámí was gradually filled with disparate construction.

In the 19th century, Zaramí Street continued to the point where it joined Bartošova Street, lined from the mill only by gardens. Today, it opens into Vodní Street, which is, however, much younger and formed around a group of small houses built in the course of the 19th century. The original route of Zarámí in the western part is still respected; now there is a car park next to a group of prefab houses. 

After the fire of the lower mill in 1912, the first municipal power station was built in its place (1914), later bought by the Baťa company and demolished in 1932. At the end of the 1930s, several houses were added to the street at the corner with Dlouhá Street.

The street underwent a fundamental transformation in the second half of the 20th century. Today, there are houses with residential, administrative, and commercial purposes. The eastern half of the street has a uniform height of three to four-story houses in compact blocks on both sides of the street. The former Česká pojišťovna building, now used by the municipal office (1986–1989, superstructure from 1991), follows this principle. The western part of the street, on the other hand, historically made up of garden plots free from construction, is dominated by buildings of the two PSG towers (1966–1971) and the prominent corner House of Finance, the seat of the Czech Savings Bank and the Customs Office (1993).

Zarámí thus presents an example of a street radically transformed in the course of the 20th century. All buildings built before 1900 have been gradually replaced by new buildings. At the same time, the new construction unified the street, making it a compact unit. The only visible reference to the distant past thus remains the unchanged route of the street.

 

 

DV