Leading Czech shoe specialist dies

Petr Hlaváček, one of the greatest Czech shoe experts and a lecturer at Tomas Bata University in Zlin, has died at the age of 83, the ctk news agency reported. Hlavacek studied the shoes of the warriors of the famous Terracota Army or of Otzi the Iceman, the well-preserved natural mummy of a man who lived 5,000 years ago, later making replicas of both types. But his main field of work were shoes for children and diabetics. In 2005, Hlaváček received a prestigious award from the International Union of Shoe Industry Technicians for his contribution to the development of the shoe industry.