Vavrinec Krtlcka
Křtlčka, Vavřinec
Date of birth unknown; died 1570. Czech founder. Born in Bitišky na Moravĕ. Beginning in 1557 he worked in Prague as a bell-founding master. In 1563–69, together with the Czech master founder T. Jaroš, he created the famous singing fountain in front of the Belvedere on Hradčany Hill in Prague.
Křička was the author of the Handbook for the Casting of Bells and Cannon and for the Manufacture of Artillery Measuring Devices, Rockets, Pumps, and Fountains, With Numerous Drawings, which attests to the high level of armament and casting technique in Bohemia during the 16th century. The manuscript was first published in 1947.