Royal city (bohemia)

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The names royal town and feudal town were an urban privilege and an important element of royal property in Bohemia in the Middle Ages . This property should be inalienable and could not be pledged by the ruler.

Legal Status

In the countries of the Bohemian Crown there were around 40 cities with this privilege at the beginning of the 16th century . The citizens of these cities held a higher position than other subjects, especially in the order of estates .

In addition to the royal cities, there were so-called feudal cities , which were mostly a source of income for the queen. Another source of income for the royal chamber were so-called chamber cities, which, however, did not have the rights and status of a royal city. These cities had to do serf work for the King's Chamber. The king could sell them at any time.

Bourgeoisie in royal cities

The bourgeoisie in royal cities became a special social status. You became a citizen through a legal act. Anyone who bought a house, lived in a town for a long time, had good ancestors and a decent family life, or, if they were subject, had a discharge certificate, had the chance to be accepted into this shift become. Another option for admission to this privileged class was purchase or marriage. In individual cases the city, especially educated people, offered citizenship.

However, the rights and duties often differed considerably from place to place, mostly given by the status of the respective city. There was also a hierarchy in the bourgeoisie itself, which was reflected in the income, the sequence at the Lord's Supper and the seat in the church, but also in the location of the house.

Bohemian and Moravian royal cities

with year of appointment

Royal cities in the Bohemian Kłodzko Land

The royal cities in the Glatzer Land, which was elevated to a county by King George of Podiebrad in 1459 , were formerly urban centers for handicrafts and trade for the surrounding manors who were lent to the lower nobility. The citizens of the Kłodzko royal cities belonged to the privileged layers of the Kłodzko feudal system ( manský system ) and were subject to the Kłodzko City Court. Other privileges included the fact that in 1336 the then sovereign Johann von Luxemburg reserved the patronage of the churches of the four royal cities, while he transferred the patronage of the other churches to the respective feudal lords. Documents about the elevation to the royal city, as they exist for most Bohemian royal cities, do not exist for the royal cities of Kłodzko.

literature

  • Glatzer Land:
    • František Musil: Kladsko v době vlády Lucemburků . In: 550 let Hrabství Kladského. 1459-2009. = 550 lat hrabstwa Kłodzkiego. 1459–2009 Kladský sborník . Supplement. Vol. 6). Muzeum Podkrkonoší, Trutnov 2009, ISBN 978-80-903741-3-3 , pp. 41-74.
    • Marek Šebela, Jiři Fišer: České Názvy hraničních Vrchů, Sídel a vodních toků v Kladsku . In: Kladský sborník 5, 2003, pp. 370, 372, 382 and 384.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.kralovske-mesto-chrudim.cz/
  2. ↑ Hugo Weczerka (Ed.): Handbook of historical sites . Volume: Silesia (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 316). Kröner, Stuttgart 1977, ISBN 3-520-31601-3 , p. 172.