Original scientific paper
Marketplaces and Levels of Urbanization in Slavonian Military Frontier (Border) - Varaždin Generalate and Križevci County in 17th Century
Hrvoje Petrić
; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
During 17th century, the following groups of urban settlements existed in Križevci county and Varaždin Generalate: 1) free royal boroughs; 2) privileged marketplaces; 3) marketplaces and squares that had been found in the Middle Ages and kept their urban settlement status in part in 17th century; 4) new marketplaces and squares; 5) marketplaces and squares turned into villages. All researched urban settlements belong to frontier towns of the Slavonian Military Frontier Border. Koprivnica and Križevci belong to group 1, Ivanić and Cirkvena to group 2 (this settlement got its marketplace status in the second half of 17th century), while all other places belong to groups 3 and 4 (sources call them »oppidum« loosely translated as ‘marketplace’, but as ‘square’ as well. The following old urban settlements that had existed in the Middle Ages were the following: Ludbreg, Rasinja, Sv. Križ (nearby Ivanić), Rakovec, Vrbovec, Dubrava and Čazma; the following new urban settlements fell into the same category: Gradec, Komarnica (today’s Novigrad Podravski), Drnje and probably Đelekovec, Virje and others. Some of the medieval marketplaces lost their legal status and turned into villages. These settlements were listed in the group 5. Within a group (marketplaces and squares) there were differences between individual places, as non-privileged marketplaces (squares) were significantly different from each other, however, this too shall have to wait a more detailed elaboration in future research. Although until now we’ve thought that 17th century had no other urban settlements except frontier settlements-strongholds (Koprivnica, Ivanić and Križevci), it’s possible to establish now that bringing large sums of money to Military Border areas, especially to smaller strongholds of Varaždin Generalate, must have influenced the needs of soldiers for commercial trade, which, in turn, resulted in formation of new urban settlements (of marketplace type) next to forts and strongholds. At the same time, we have to point out that it’s not only formation of entirely new marketplaces (i.e. marketplace Komarnica-Novigrad), but some old medieval marketplaces were renewed and built up, that had not had population continuity prior to that. Such examples are provided in vicinity of the strongholds like: Međurača, Čazma and Virje. The marketplaces, that had existed in late 16th and early 17th century mostly grew and increased their population. In most marketplaces of Križevci county, in the period from mid to late 17th century, total population numbers fell down, and some of the marketplaces turned into villages. In mid 17th century, some new marketplaces emerged in Varaždin Generalate, and by the end of 17th century they grew and their population rose in numbers.
Keywords
Marketplaces; urbanization; urban settlements; Military Frontier (Border)
Hrčak ID:
77855
URI
Publication date:
1.6.2009.
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