The German town law (German: Deutsches Stadtrecht) or German municipal concerns (Deutsches Städtewesen) was a set of early town privileges based on the Magdeburg rights developed by Otto I. The Magdeburg law became the inspiration for regional town charters not only in Germany, but also in Central and Eastern Europe who modified it during the Middle Ages. The German town law (based on the Magdeburg rights) was used in the founding of many German cities, towns, and villages beginning in the 13th century.
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👉 German town law in the context of Magdeburg
Magdeburg (/ˈmæɡdəbɜːrɡ/ MAG-də-burg, German: [ˈmakdəbʊʁk] , locally [ˈmaχdəbʊɐ̯ç]; Low Saxon: Meideborg [ˈmaˑɪ̯debɔɐ̯x]) is the capital of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river.
Otto I, the Holy Roman Emperor and the founder of the Archbishopric of Magdeburg, was buried in the city's cathedral after his death. Magdeburg's version of German town law, known as Magdeburg rights, spread throughout Central and Eastern Europe. In the Late Middle Ages, Magdeburg was one of the largest and most prosperous German cities and a notable member of the Hanseatic League. One of the most notable people from the city was Otto von Guericke, famous for his experiments with the Magdeburg hemispheres.
In this Dossier
German town law in the context of Bourgeoisie
The bourgeoisie are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and aristocracy. They are traditionally contrasted with the proletariat by their wealth, political power, and education, as well as their access to and control of cultural, social, and financial capital.
The bourgeoisie in its original sense is intimately linked to the political ideology of liberalism and its existence within cities, recognised as such by their urban charters (e.g., municipal charters, town privileges, German town law), so there was no bourgeoisie apart from the citizenry of the cities. Rural peasants came under a different legal system.
German town law in the context of Burgher (title)
The burgher class was a social class consisting of municipal residents (Latin: cives), that is, free persons subject to municipal law, formed in the Middle Ages. These free persons were subject to city law, medieval town privileges, a municipal charter, or German town law. After the fall of the estate monarchy, this social class, more often referred to as the bourgeoisie (from French: bourgeoisie – city residents) and less often as the burgher class, generally refers to town or city inhabitants. Due to the ideological and pejorative connotations of the terms 'burgher class' and 'bourgeoisie,' modern sociology prefers to use the term 'middle class.'
Gradually, within the burgher class, a wealthy stratum emerged, engaged in banking and overseas trade, organized in guilds and trading companies. The rise of this stratum is associated with the beginning of capitalism.
German town law in the context of Lusatian League
The Lusatian League was a historical alliance of six towns in the region of Upper Lusatia from 1346 until 1815, when the region was controlled first by Bohemia (1346–1635) and later by the Electorate of Saxony (1635–1815). The member towns were Bautzen (Upper Sorbian: Budyšin), Görlitz (Zhorjelc), Kamenz (Kamjenc), Lauban (Lubań), Löbau (Lubij) and Zittau (Žitawa). Five of the towns are located in present-day Germany; Lubań and Zgorzelec (split from Görlitz after World War II) are within Poland.
The Lusatian League is known by the names Oberlausitzer Sechsstädtebund (German), Zwjazk šesćiměstow (Upper Sorbian), Šestiměstí (Czech) and Związek Sześciu Miast (Polish).
German town law in the context of Magdeburg rights
Magdeburg rights (German: Magdeburger Recht, Polish: Prawo magdeburskie, Lithuanian: Magdeburgo teisė; also called Magdeburg law) were a set of town privileges first developed by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (936–973), which regulated the degree of internal autonomy within cities and villages granted by the local ruler. Named after the city of Magdeburg and based on Roman municipal and universal merchant traditions, these town charters were perhaps the most important set of medieval laws in Central Europe. They became the basis for the German town laws developed during many centuries in the Holy Roman Empire. The Magdeburg rights were adopted and adapted by numerous monarchs, including the rulers of Bohemia, Hungary, Poland, and Lithuania, a milestone in the urbanization of the region which prompted the development of thousands of villages and cities.