The study analyses the ethnographical articles in selected periodicals published in the second half of the 19th century in Moravia: the Koleda calendar (1851-1858), the Koleda magazine (1876-1881) and the Komenský magazine (1873-1902). This study comments on the contribution of these publications to the documentation of folk culture in Moravia and formation of ethnology as a scientific discipline. It highlights the share of the editors and
contributors in the formation of the calendar and both magazines and points out some motives which led to the publication of the ethnographical texts. It recalls some fundamental articles. The analysed periodicals primarily focused on folklore in the Czech lands as well as other Slavic countries, family and annual customs and superstitions. In all three cases, ethnography was a supplementary, not a primary theme. The occurrence of ethnographical texts depended on current situation.