Royal free city
Cities in the Kingdom of Hungary
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A royal free city, or free royal city (libera regia civitas), was the official term for the most important cities in the Kingdom of Hungary from the late 12th century[1][2][3] to the Hungarian Revolution of 1848.
The cities were granted certain privileges by the King of Hungary to prevent their control by the Hungarian nobility, hence "royal", and exercised some self-government in relation to their internal affairs and so were "free". From the late 14th century, the elected envoys of the royal free cities participated in the sessions of the Hungarian Diet and so they became part of the legislature. This list also includes cities in the Kingdom of Croatia and the Banate of Bosnia, which were part of the Lands of the Hungarian Crown.
A royal town had a ruling council, usually with members elected for life, and was headed by a prior (a prince or a mayor), who in turn had a captain and a judge, which were all temporary elected positions. All citizens were considered ennobled.[4]
The term "royal free city" in the kingdom's languages is as follows:
- Latin: Libera regia civitas
- Hungarian: Szabad királyi város
- German: Königliche Freistadt
- Romanian: Oraș liber regesc
- Slovak: Slobodné kráľovské mesto
- Croatian: Slobodni kraljevski grad
- Serbian: Слободни краљевски град, romanized: Slobodni kraljevski grad
They had a status similar to the free imperial cities in the Holy Roman Empire.
List of royal free cities in Kingdom of Hungary
_-_city_center.jpg)
| Current English name | Hungarian name | Other historical names |
|---|---|---|
| Alba Iulia | Gyulafehérvár | German: Karlsburg |
| Arad[5] | Arad | |
| Baia Mare | Nagybánya | German: Frauenbach |
| Baia Sprie | Felsőbánya | German: Mittelstadt |
| Banská Bystrica | Besztercebánya[6] | |
| Banská Štiavnica[7] | Selmecbánya | |
| Bardejov | Bártfa[8] | |
| Bistrița | Beszterce | German: Bistritz |
| Bratislava[9][5] | Pozsony | German: Pressburg, Slovak: Prešporok, Croatian: Požun |
| Brezno | Breznóbánya | |
| Budapest (Buda) | Buda[10][5] | |
| Cluj-Napoca[5] | Kolozsvár | German: Klausenburg, Romanian: Cluj |
| Debrecen[5] | Debrecen | Croatian: Debrecin |
| Eisenstadt | Kismarton | |
| Erzsébetváros | Erzsébetváros[11] | |
| Esztergom | Esztergom | |
| Gherla | Szamosújvár | German: Neuschloss |
| Győr | Győr | |
| Hódmezővásárhely[5] | Hódmező-Vásárhely | |
| Kecskemét[5] | ||
| Kežmarok[12] | Késmárk | |
| Komárom | Komárom | |
| Košice[13][5] | Kassa | German: Kasschau |
| Kőszeg | Kőszeg | |
| Kremnica | Körmöcbánya[14] | |
| Levoča[15] | Lőcse | |
| Ľubietová | Libetbánya[16] | |
| Mediaș | Medgyes[17] | German: Mediasch |
| Modra | Modor | |
| Nová Baňa[18] | Újbánya | |
| Novi Sad | Újvidék | |
| Oradea[5] | Nagyvárad | Croatian: Veliki Varadin |
| Orăștie | Szászváros | German: Broos |
| Pécs[5] | Pécs | Croatian: Pečuh |
| Pest | Pest[19] | |
| Pezinok | Bazin[20] | |
| Prešov[18] | Eperjes | |
| Pukanec | Bakabánya[21] | |
| Rust | Ruszt | |
| Sabinov | Kisszeben | |
| Satu Mare | Szatmárnémeti | Romanian: Sătmar |
| Sebeș | Szászsebes | German: Mühlbach |
| Sfântu Gheorghe | Sepsiszentgyörgy | German: Sankt Georg |
| Sibiu | Nagyszeben | German: Hermannstadt |
| Sighișoara | Segesvár[22] | Schäßburg |
| Skalica[23] | Szakolca | |
| Sombor | Zombor | |
| Sopron | Sopron | |
| Subotica[5] | Szabadka | |
| Szeged[5] | Szeged | Croatian: Segedin |
| Székesfehérvár | Székesfehérvár[24] | |
| Târgu-Mureș | Marosvásárhely | German: Neumarkt am Marosch |
| Timișoara[5] | Temesvár | German: Temeschvar, Croatian: Temišvar |
| Trenčín | Trencsén | |
| Trnava[9] | Nagyszombat | |
| Veľký Šariš | Nagysáros | |
| Zvolen[25] | Zólyom |
In the Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia
| Name | Hungarian name | Other historical names and notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bakar[26] | ||
| Bihać | Bihács | Bišće, Bić; until the loss to the Ottoman Empire in 1592 |
| Karlovac[26] | ||
| Koprivnica[26] | ||
| Krapina[26] | Korpona[27] | |
| Križevci[26] | ||
| Osijek[26] | ||
| Požega[26] | ||
| Rijeka[26][5] | Fiume | Corpus separatum |
| Ruma[26] | ||
| Samobor[26] | ||
| Senj[26] | ||
| Sisak[26] | ||
| Varaždin[26] | ||
| Vukovar[26] | Vukovár, Valkóvár | German: Wukowar |
| Virovitica[26] | ||
| Zagreb[28][26][5] | Zágráb | Gradec, German: Agram |
Towns with only partial privileges
| Current English name | Hungarian name | Other historical names |
|---|---|---|
| Banská Belá | Bélabánya | |
| Belá-Dulice | Turócbéla | |
| Berehove | Beregszász | |
| Braşov[5] | Brassó | German: Kronstadt |
| Miskolc[5] | Croatian: Miškolc | |
| Kiskunfélegyháza[5] | Kis-Kuhn-Félegyháza | |
| Nitra | Nyitra | |
| Podolínec | Podolin | |
| Sighetu Marmatiei | Máramarossziget | German: Marmaroschsiget |
| Šamorín | Somorja | Slovak: Zent Maria, Samaria; German: Sommerein |
| Uzhhorod | Ungvár | |
| Vasvár | Vasvár | |
| Vršac | Versec |
