The most famous Moravian folk puppeteers are V. Fink, J. Šimek, J.
Ruml, M. Doležal, the families Kučera, Tříšek, Kopecký, Berousek,
Flachs, Pfleger and Nový. The members of the specifi c Pfleger family
have conserved the oldest and rarest puppets of Czech provenience
coming from the workshop of M. Sychrovský in Mirotice and dating back
to mid-19th century. The members of the family Flachs are considered
the most interesting puppet masters in Moravia, especially thanks
to unique marionettes used in their theatres. They allegedly have been
carved by the Flachs themselves.
The popularity of wandering puppet theatre stimulated the large-scale
development of amateur puppetry in the fi rst half of the 20th century. Many
association, school and family puppet theatres came into being. Between
the two world wars the puppet theatre Radost / Public Enlightenment
Association in Břeclav, the Kasperl Realm in Olomouc-Hejčín and
Šindler’s puppet theatre Radost in Hus-House Brno were outstanding
Moravian amateur ensembles; their artistic level was extraordinary and
their performance overcame the traditionalistic manners.
In the context of the phenomenon of the so-called family puppet theatre,
the creation of the unique cubist “Czech puppet theatre” by Brno architect
Miroslav Kolář in 1920 was a special event. In fact, it was the fi rst
comprehensive manufactured theatre (proscenium and scenery), very
avant-garde both from the artistic and technological point of view.