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Royal city in Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Royal city in Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
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"Royal city" redirects here. For other uses, see Royal city (disambiguation).

In the history of Poland, a royal city or royal town (Polish: miasto królewskie) was an urban settlement within the crown lands (Polish: królewszczyzna).[1]

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Medal commemorating the Law on the Cities

The most influential royal cities enjoyed voting rights during the free election period in Poland (1572–1791). These cities were Gdańsk, Warsaw, Kraków, Poznań, Lwów, Wilno, Toruń, Lublin, Kamieniec and Elbląg.[2] Other important royal cities included Gniezno (ecclesiastical capital of Poland and former capital of early medieval Poland), Płock (former capital of medieval Poland), Piotrków (second most important political center of Poland in the early and mid-16th century as the main location of the Sejm, and then the main Crown Tribunal location alongside Lublin, thus one of the two judiciary capitals of Poland), Grodno (de facto capital of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 1580s[3] and then the general sejm location alongside Warsaw), Bydgoszcz and Kalisz (temporary locations of the Crown Tribunal), and Sandomierz, Przemyśl, Kazimierz.[4][5]

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Law on the Cities

Main article: Free Royal Cities Act

On April 18, 1791, the Great Sejm adopted the Free Royal Cities Act (full title: "Miasta nasze królewskie wolne w państwach Rzeczypospolitej" - "Our Free Royal Cities in the States of the Commonwealth"), included as Article III into the Constitution of May 3, 1791.

The law granted a number of privileges for the residents of royal cities. Many of these privileges and rights have already been enjoyed by major royal cities, and the law effectively equalized all royal cities in this respect. It also includes some rights earlier enjoyed only by szlachta.

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Royal cities by region

Crown of the Kingdom of Poland

Greater Poland Province

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Warsaw in the 18th century
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Gdańsk in the 16th century
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Poznań in the 17th century
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Elbląg in the 18th century
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Toruń in the 17th century
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Piotrków in the 17th century
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Grudziądz in the 17th century
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Brześć Kujawski in the 17th century
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Sztum in the 18th century

Lesser Poland Province

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Kraków, Kleparz and Kazimierz in the 17th century - agglomeration of three royal cities
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Lwów in the 17th century
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Lublin in the 17th century
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Kamieniec Podolski in the 17th century
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Przemyśl in the 17th century
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Sandomierz in the 17th century
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Chełm in the 17th century
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Biecz in the 17th century
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Łuck in the 18th century

Grand Duchy of Lithuania

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Vilnius in the 17th century
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Grodno in the 16th century
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Kaunas in the 17th century
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Brest in the 17th century
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Mogilev in the 18th century
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Trakai in the 17th century
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Royal castles and residences

Examples of Polish royal castles and residences found in former royal cities of Poland:

Old towns

The historic old towns of Kraków, Warsaw, Toruń, Vilnius and Lviv are designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and additionally the old towns of Gdańsk, Kazimierz Dolny, Lublin, Przemyśl, Sandomierz and Tykocin are designated Historic Monuments of Poland.[14][15][16][17][18] Examples of Polish royal cities historic centers include:

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See also

References

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