The year 2024 marks the 400th anniversary of the publication of Comenius' map of Moravia. The Czech Mint created a half-ounce gold medal which is part of a free cycle of the most beautiful unrealised designs entered into the Czech National Bank's competitions.

The thinker and writer John Amos Comenius entered history as a "teacher of nations". His progressive views on education and upbringing, which influence pedagogy to this day, managed to spread far beyond the borders of the Czech Kingdom. He visited Poland, England, Sweden, Hungary and the Netherlands. His name was a household word in Europe and opened doors to the highest circles of society. Most of all, however, Comenius longed to return to the homeland he loved above all else, which he had to leave because of religious intolerance... His home was Moravia. He had travelled his native land cross-country, knew every corner of it, and therefore decided to immortalise it in the form of a map. "There are numerous and variously published local maps of our country, but they are all full of errors," he let himself hear. He used the first independent map of Moravia, made in 1569 by the physician Pavel Fabricius, as the basis for his work. He corrected a number of inaccuracies and added his own knowledge. More than a thousand objects - towns, villages, fortresses, monasteries, vineyards, healing springs, mines, rivers and forests - appeared in the scale of 1:520000. The descriptions were written in Czech and German to suit "people of both languages". The map was published in the turbulent post-Belarusian period of 1624 and was widely used by various armies fighting in the Thirty Years' War. As the author recorded bridges, passes and fords in detail, it can be assumed that it was intended for military purposes. However, it understandably served peaceful interests as well. Over the decades, it was published more than a hundred times - appearing in world atlases, travel cases and card games, and thanks to its magnificent graphic decoration, it also became a sought-after decoration.

The design by academic sculptor Michal Vitanovský was used as a template for the commemorative medal. It was awarded third place in the art competition of the Czech National Bank, and the expert committee appreciated "the traditional portrait of the teacher of nations J. A. Comenius and the depiction of four city views on the obverse side of the design". The reverse side of the medal presents a relief reconstruction of Komenský's map and Moravian heraldry.

The issue limit is only 99 units. Each medal is also hand numbered on the edge.