Bishop's Mint
Permanently closed
We keep this page for those looking for the place. The details below may no longer apply.
Closed – the exhibition has ended
The Bishop's Mint housed a collection of more than ten thousand coins and medals. Gold and silver coins from the Kroměříž mint were considered a symbol of wealth, and their fame surpassed even that of the imperial currency.
The highly valued tradition of minting coins in Kroměříž was founded by Cardinal Dietrichstein, who was granted this privilege by Emperor Rudolf II in 1608. The coins of Kroměříž gained their greatest fame under Bishop Karl II of Liechtenstein-Castelcorn. It was he who had the mint building constructed in 1665; today it is the last preserved mint in Moravia.
Some of the machines were powered by water from the neighbouring mill, and the equipment, advanced for its time, made minting very efficient. In the following years the mint is said to have produced even more coins than the imperial mint in Wrocław, which was a thorn in the side of the imperial court. Bishop's coins were minted in Kroměříž until 1759.
The building is part of the historic town centre of Kroměříž, a protected urban heritage reserve.
