The oldest written remark about Bystřice pod Hostýnem dates back to 1368. The town was established on the trade routes junction. It was in the proprietorship of many proprietors, the best-known of which were Václav Bítovský of Bítov (in the 17th century), František Antonín Rottal (in the 18th century) and Olivier Loudon (in the 19th century), a descendant of the famous general Loudon.
The land began to develop the most after 1861, when the German factory owner Michael Thonet established here a factory for bent-wood furniture, the largest in Europe at that time. This caused the foothill village, that thrived mainly from agriculture, to become an industrial town. The Thonet family, which once brought fame to Bystřice, is commemorated by the Thonet´s villa on the Přerovská street and a unique chair museum with an exhibition of both M. Thonet´s and his descendants´ products, including current made chair furniture.