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Josef SOUSEDÍK (1894 - 1944)
Josef Sousedík was born on December 18, 1894 in Vsetín. He came from a poor family and therefore he continue his studies after graduation of the Council School. He took apprenticeship in Thonet and Bubela factories where he received a certificate of apprenticeship of fitter and electrical assembly. Until the World War I he worked in Brno while studying technical school. He spent difficult years of the world war in Russian and Italian front and after his return from the war he volunteered defence of the young Czechoslovak republic against Hungarian attacks.
When he came back home and successfully passed Apprentice Examination, J. Sousedík opened his private business in 1919. Firstly, he started the electrotechnical trade in his parents´ house, but shortly after that he established a workshop of electrical engineering and machining in the former saw mill in Vsetín-Trávníky. During next years he built up a factory here which employed some 200 people in 1934. It was then, when J. Sousedík merged his business with Ringhoffer-Tatra company and became its director.
Apart from his entrepreneurial and creative activities, J. Sousedík actively joined political, social and cultural life in the town. He was the Mayor of Vsetín for 10 years and it was his activities which initiated development of the town prior to the World War II.
Immediately at the beginning of occupation J.Sousedík joined anti-fascist resistance and stayed there despite continuous threat of arresting. Unfortunately, his activities were betrayed and on 15.12. 1944 J. Sousedík was shot death during interview at Gestapo. Next fate of his commemoration has much in common with other heroes of anti-fascist resistance. Post war appreciation of merits was exchanged by suppression of any hint at times of communist regime, fortunately ended up positively by rehabilitation after November 1989.

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Josef ČERNOCKÝ (1854 - 1939)
Vsetín native Josef Černocký was a trained butcher. In 1893 became a mayor of Vsetín and finished his career after long 26 years, as late as in 1919. At that time, the post of mayor was a honorary one and the town was also represented by three councillors and so called aldermen. In total, the Town Council encountered 30 persons. During the era of J. Černocký, on the breakthrough of 19th and 20th century, a remote little town developed into the industrial town. Regarding the most significant construction events in the town we can mention for example establishment of the town power plant, construction of hospital, Lower School, new Town Hall or municipal water mains and sewage system.
As the mayor, Josef Černocký had reputation of a discreet person and a good economist. The intention of the Town Council was to develop Vsetín, yet at the lowest level of loans. Based on well designed projects, the Mayor was capable to get necessary financing even from the Emperor´s Court. Due to his construction effort, he was rewarded by the Emperor František Josef I and received golden and silver crosses of merit. The Mayor Josef Černocký possessed a butchery shop in his house situated in the Upper Town and apart from that, he also took care of a farm. Together with his wife named Rozálie he brought up four sons. As to his hobbies, he liked wood carving being also a layman in production of furniture. He took an active role in the local social and religious life ( as a member of so called catholic competitive committee, managing the property of the catholic church.) However, after the World War I he resigned from public activities and let his successors to continue in administration of the town, as the new era required new people in the area of the town management.

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Michal URBÁNEK (1849 - 1923)
Michal Urbánek was born on September 29, 1849 in Vsetín in the family of a bricklayer foreman. He attended school in Vsetín and later the Grammar School and German Technical School in Brno. As a student he participated in the Czech national movement in Brno where he joined Sokol. He achieved the title of architect and from 1882 acted in Vsetín in this role.
Plans of tens residential houses and out-buildings were originating in M. Urbánek office - among others of the catholic church and the school in Bratřejov, the protestant church in Pozděchov and Střítež, a hotel in Vizovice, but mainly of buildings in Vsetín - the Upper School (1888), followed by the plan of re-design of the catholic church and rectory (1889), reconstruction of Savings Bank and Maštaliska, Pančava hotel (1892 - 1898), schools in Jasenka (1890) and Jasenice (1893), but of many residential houses as well, out of which Hlavica house Na Kopečku or Kohn house in the Lower Square still exist.
19th century is considered as the most productive period of Urbánek construction activities because at that time he employed Dušan Jurkovič who as the first architect used elements of coming period of Art Nouveau. After 1900 Urbánek work was competed by the younger generation of architects even if later he managed to win two larger orders - the project of the Lower School ( 1908 - 1909) and the town hospital (1911).
Michal Urbánek significantly influenced the life in Vsetín of the last quarter of 19th century. Some of his buildings which carry artistic style of his period still exist, some have been re-built and many have been recovered. Due to Urbánek lobbying, Vsetín Savings Bank was decorated by Aleš sgrafitti and Wallachia was shining in the Wallachian village built by local carpenters in 1895 in Vsetín for the Czechoslovakian Ethnographic Exhibition, then it was disassembled, sent to Prague and re-assembled.
Construction activites provided M. Urbánek with high standard of living considering Vsetín situation. Therefore, he could be active in social life being a member of various groups. For example, he was a co-founder of Vsetín Sokol which, similarly as the educational group called Snaha (Effort) was led by him until his death. His active approach reminds us of other personalities of his time who gave exceptional dynamics to Vsetín social life of that period.

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HLAVICA brothers

František HLAVICA (1885 - 1952)
He graduated from the Professional School of Wood Processing and later at the Academy of Graphic Arts in Prague at Prof. Hanuš Schwaiger. He made his pictures even at the front line during the World War I. Then he settled in Brno, where together with Emil and Rudolf, his brothers, belonged to the key personalities of Brno cultural life. In 1928 he was appointed by Professor at VUT Brno, ten years later he became Dean at the Faculty of Architecture and structural engineering. He regularly visited Wallachia, illustrated books of Wallachian writers and in 1931 built Kohútka cottage on the peak of Javorníky. The picture shows F. Hlavica and J. Masaryk under the occasion of re-unveiling the statue of TGM in Vsetín.

Emil HLAVICA (1887 - 1952)
He studies at wood-carving department of VŠUP in Prague and at AVU at prof. Myslbek. He made mainly statues, but he also dealt with medal engraving, paintings and graphic illustration. Wallachia was his source of inspiration. He is the author of the monument of B. Smetana, L. Janáček, and of other master pieces.

Rudolf HLAVICA (1897 - 1971)
He got apprenticeship in wood carving, studied also VŠUP. He settled in Brno, but regularly visited Walllachia. Regarding his work, he is the author of Štefánik Monument in Záriečí and the Monument of Deliberation in Vsetín, followed by others.

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Matouš VÁCLAVEK (1842 - 1908)
He was a School Headmaster, District School Inspector in Vsetín and one of the most significant ethnographic specialists in Wallachia. His works entitled Moravian Wallachia, Children in Moravian Wallachia, Wallachian Mariage, Valašské Meziříčí Administration, Vsatsko Dominion, Vsatsko District and History of Vsetín, rank among the key works in Wallachia. Moreover, he wrote articles for various magazines and contributed in Otto Encyclopaedia.

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MUDr. František SOVA (1853 - 1940)
Born in Kyjov, F.Sova acted as a general practitioner in Vsetín from 1882. He took an active role in cultural and social life of the town being a member of the educational group called Snaha. Moreover, he was a collector and founded Museum in 1924.

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Richard PAVLÍK (1889 - 1966)
Vsetín native and patriot, R. Pavlík graduated from the Institute of Teaching and then he acted as a teacher and later as Headmaster at Hošťálková and Hovězí schools. He significantly contributed in preservation of valuable documents in writing including pictures from the life of Wallachian people. He acted for many years as a municipal and later district archivist. After the World War II he administered the Town Chronicle and added missing data from 1850-1930 and 1939-44 into it. As the author of articles, photographs and graphics he shared issuing of the monography called "Vsetín" dated 1946, he was one of the founder of the Ethnograpic group Vsacan and in 1949 belonged to the organizers of "Wallachia at Work" exhibition.

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Záviš KALANDRA (1902 - 1950)
Historian, publicist and critic Z. Kalandra spent his childhood in Vsetín. During the World War II he was imprisoned in concentration camps, re-arrested in 1949 and sentenced to death and executed in 1950 during the framed-process with M. Horáková. His significant historic works include Znamení Lipan (Lipany Sign), Mácha and Palacký, Czech paganism. He is buried in Vsetín.

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Erich S. KULKA (1911 - 1995)
Born in Vsetín, E.S. Kulka lived a peaceful life of an office clerk of the religious Jew until the World War II. The radical change was caused by stay and resistance activity in concentration camps. He published his war experience and he mainly tried to bring up young Jews. He left the country after 1968 and acted in Radio Free Europe, at the Jad Vašem Institute in Israel and at a Hebrew University. The key topics of his numerous scientific works was modern history of Czech and Slovak Jews (documentation project called "Fight of Czech Jews against Nazism", books "The Jews in Czechoslovak Svoboda Army", "The Jews in Czechoslovak Army at the West", etc.)

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Dušan Samo JURKOVIČ (1868 - 1947)
Native from Slovakia closely connected with Wallachia since his childhood. From 1889 he worked in Vsetín at architect M. Urbánek office and shared preparations for the Ethnographic Exhibition in Prague in 1891, The Ethnographic Exhibition in Vsetín in 1892 and he designed a Wallachian village for the Ethnograpic Exhibitopn in Prague in 1895. He is the co-author of certain Vsetín buildings, the author of Maměnka and Libušín shelters at Pustevny in the Beskydy Mountains, of buildings in Luhačovice spa, Calvary at Hostýn and of others. He published articles in Czech and foreign artistic magazines.