There have been individual Masons in Moravia for a few centuries, but it was only after the end of the Seven Years War (1756-1763) that their numbers increased substantially. They did not yet have a consolidated organization, but some of them, followers of Templar-orientated `strict observance’ Masonry, were in the Societe patriotigue in Brno. As late as 1782, the Freemasons of Brno established the lodge which they named The Rising Sun in the Orient. The lodge was conceived as a ‘knightly order’ of Templar Masonry and thus included a number of aristocrats (Salm-Reifferscheidt, Monte l’Abbate, Mittrows, Kaunitz). ‘The main role of the lodge however, was to provide an oasis, a refuge from the imperfections of the world.