Kraków – miasto na prawie polskim i jego lokacja na prawie magdeburskim

Abstract

KRAKOW – A CITY FOUNDED ON POLISH LAW AND ITS FORMAL ESTABLISHMENT UNDER MAGDEBURG LAW

The 750th anniversary of the foundation of Kraków under Magdeburg Law and the research projects undertaken in connection with the jubilee celebrations inspired the author of the present article to reread and reinterpret the scarce source materials which can be related to the oldest history of the Kraków settlement complex whose continuous development has lasted since the 8th cent. at the latest (the first written note mentioning Kraków dates from 965/966). As a result of that, the author revised his own views on the issues connected with the city’s beginnings which he had previously presented at various occasions. This revision became possible due to the spectacular fi ndings of scholars examining the history of cities in Poland over the last few decades, as well as the latest archaeological research conducted in Kraków. Thus, the author proposes the following thesis: the key role in the development of the Kraków settlement complex was played by Wawel Hill on top of which – possibly already in the 8th cent. – a fortified motte (gród) was built as a local centre of power. The first bailey (podgrodzie) developed in the immediate vicinity of the motte and was inhabited mostly by nobles and knights. The first bailey soon became too small to cater for the growing needs of the motte; therefore, during the reign of the Piast dynasty when Kraków became a strong centre of political power, the second bailey (Okół) developed at the foot of Wawel Hill, atop the geological formation known as the Prądnik Cone. The new settlement at Okół was also dominated by the nobility and chivalry and was soon to turn into a religious centre as well (private churches and houses of the canons of the chapter of Wawel cathedral were located there); it also functioned as a centre of crafts and trade, providing various services to the community. The settlement developed in a natural way, along the axis of the Prądnik Cone which was beyond the reach of the fl ood waters of the River Vistula, expanding towards the north. Around the 12th cent. at the latest, a market settlement – the link between the city and the first municipal parish at the Church of the Holy Trinity (administered by the Dominicans since 1222) – developed near Okół. The Franciscans – another typically urban order – settled nearby in 1237. Th e author proposes this early settlement to be referred to as “a city founded on Polish law” which implies that it performed the normal tasks of a city (the crafts and trade related functions) while remaining under the complete power of the local prince’s administrators and offi cials; in other words, it did not enjoy any liberties in terms of judicature, administration or municipal government that “German law” entailed. Beginning with the 1220s, German residents started to appear in Kraków – a phenomenon which is well documented in historical sources. Some of them were merchants, and some had already developed family relations with the local people (which means that their presence in the city was likely to become permanent). In 1228, 1230 and around 1240 we come across the institution of sołtys in Kraków (Piotr and Salomon) which was one of the typical features of German town law. Petrus villicus who appears in the sources in1220 can probably be identifi ed with Piotr the sołtys who is mentioned in1228. On the basis of this data it has long been assumed that German town law in Kraków was actually introduced twice: the fi rst charter was granted around 1220 (the chartering document has not been preserved), and the second (fully documented) charter was granted in 1257. However, if we compare this situation with the case of Prague and a number of Silesian towns, we must assume that originally the privilege of German law was granted by the local ruler only to the German settler community who created their own vicus in the vicinity of their own church. The first privilege must have been granted to the local Germans by Prince Leszek the White (1186–1227) – by analogy, the same ruler granted „Roman and German” (Romani and Theutonici) miners the privilege to use their own law and have their own superiors (rectores) by the power of the document (1218–1227) which survives in our times. Still, we do not know which church was used by the German community, and thus, what the location of their vicus was. St Andrew’s Church seems the most probable guess. It was only in 1257 that Prince Boleslaus the Chaste (1226–1279), exercising the highest state power he had as a ruler, allowed for the new urban plan to be surveyed, which meant that the market square, as it functioned within the old order (Polish law) had to be shifted from its original location to the present one. By chartering the city, the prince introduced German (Magdeburg) law as the binding legal order for all the residents of the newly surveyed urban area who were automatically granted the privilege of municipal government.