In 1562-1578 a secret printing house of Czech Brethren worked in
Ivančice, later, in 1578-1621 in Kralice nad Oslavou. Its chef d’oeuvre
– the Kralice Bible in six volumes (1579, 1580, 1582, 1587, 1588 and the
New Testament 1594) was printed there; its main printer was Zachariáš
Solín († 1596). In 1621 the printing house was transferred in a safe
place – fi rst to the castle in Náměšť nad Oslavou, under the protection
of the infl uential Karel sen. of Žerotín. Its fate got connected there with
the destiny of Jan Amos Comenius whom it followed to the Polish exile
in Lešno. The fi re of the city in 1656 put an end to the existence of the
printing house that had published more than 200 books considered as
masterpieces both from the language, translation and printing point
of view and that can be compared with works of eminent German and
Dutch workshops. In spite of the efforts of the Catholic Church it could not
be superseded and during the whole 17th and 18th centuries the Kralice
Bible served as an example of good language for Czechs regardless
of their credo and infl uenced strongly the religious and literary life
of Czech revivalists.
Another important element of the Reformation in modern time
Moravia were activities of Anabaptists coming to Moravia after 1526.
They represented a specifi c element in the country that enriched the
culture especially in South Moravia in many handicrafts. The most famous
are their ceramics, fi rst of all their fi ne ceramics – faience unknown in
central Europe before. The change of the religious climate in the country
after the battle of White Mountain led them to immigration (mainly to West
Slovakia).
