Cech panen kutnohorských (1938)

In 1590, Kutná Hora is an important and prosperous town. Silver is mined there, coins are minted, and it is the seat of the chief mintmaster. The lure of profit has also attracted swindlers, however. Their fraud reduces the mines’ output, while cost-cutting measures come at the miners’ expense. When the miner Jakub publicly protests, he is arrested and sentenced to death. The knight Mikuláš Dačický arrives in town. He is an educated man and a poet, but also a great reveler and lover of beautiful women. The alchemist Wolfram uses the pretext of producing a large quantity of silver to solicit money from the town councillors. Mikuláš rallies honest citizens to drive out the thieves and outsiders. The councillors, afraid for the virtue of their wives and daughters, seize the opportunity and accuse Dačický of witchcraft before the emperor. Rudolf II, however, receives Mikuláš warmly and gives him a letter of release. Dačický returns from Prague just in time to save the miner Jakub’s life and expose Wolfram as a swindler who was about to flee with the money he had extorted.