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be superseded and during the whole 17th and 18th centuries the Kralice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).