A deed that mentioned existence of Mikulov in 1173 is a hoax from the 14th century. It is a deed, issued by the
Přemyslid margrave
Ottokar II, who granted a castle and the surrounding area to the
Austrian noble Henry I of Liechtenstein. In 1279, Mikulov was given
market rights. After 1575, the Renaissance reconstruction of the town began. During the rule of Cardinal
Franz von Dietrichstein, the town was transformed into a representative economic, architectural, and cultural residence, and for a time it became one of the most important towns in
Moravia. A significant moment in the history of the town was the invitation of the
Piarists by Franz von Dietrichstein. They established a college here and renovated the medieval church and hospital. Following World War II, the town's German population was
expelled by the Czechoslovak government, according to the
Beneš decrees.
Jewish population The beginning of the Jewish settlement in Nikolsburg dates as far back as 1421, when Jews were expelled from
Vienna and the neighbouring province of
Lower Austria by the duke of Austria,
Albert II of Germany. The refugees settled in the town situated close to the Austrian border, some from the Austrian capital, under the protection of the princes of Liechtenstein. Additional settlers were brought after the expulsion of the Jews from the Moravian royal boroughs by King
Ladislaus the Posthumous after 1454. The settlement grew in importance, and in the first half of the 16th century, Nikolsburg became the seat of the regional
rabbi of
Moravia, thus becoming a cultural centre of Moravian Jewry. The famous rabbi
Judah Loew ben Bezalel, who is said to have created the
golem of
Prague, officiated here for twenty years as the second regional rabbi between 1553 and 1573. Cardinal
Franz von Dietrichstein, son of Adam von Dietrichstein, was a special protector of the Jews, whose taxes were considered necessary to finance the Thirty Years' War. In the first half of the 18th century, the congregation in Nikolsburg totalled over 600 families, comprising the largest Jewish settlement in Moravia. The census decreed by Empress
Maria Theresa in 1754 ascertained that there were some 620 families established in Nikolsburg (i.e. the Jewish population of about 3,000 comprised half of the town's inhabitants). ==Demographics==