 At the time of the founding of the Nikolsburg dynasty, Nikolsburg was the capital of Moravia, a province within Austria-Hungary (subsequently a part of Czechoslovakia).Earlier rabbis of the area included Yom-Tov Lipman Heller and the MaHaRaL of Prague.As capital of Moravia, the chief rabbi of Nikolsburg was automatically chief rabbi of Moravia - as per Shmuel Shmelke, in his time.