Bishop's mint house

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In the Bishop's Mint, a collection of more than ten thousand coins and medals is displayed. Golden and silver coins made in Kroměříž Mint used to be considered as a symbol of wealth and their fame has surpassed the fame of coins issued by the Austrian emperor.

The tradition of mintage in Kroměříž was established by cardinal Dietrichstein who was given this right in 1608 by Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II. The coins from Kroměříž were most famous during the era of bishop Karel II of Lichtenstein-Castelcorn. It was him, who in 1665 ordered the construction of the Mint which is today the last existing mint in Moravia.

A part of the machines was powered by water from a neighboring mill. This, back then, was a very progressive equipment and thus a very effective minting was ensured. It is believed that in following years the mint produced a bigger amount of coins than the imperial mint in Wroclaw which was not very much liked by the emperor. The Kroměříž Bishop's coins were minted until 1759.

The building of the mint belongs to the Kroměříž town conservation area.

Become a minter yourself and make your own copy of 15-kreutzer coin that used to be minted during the times of Bishop Lichtenstein in 1694.