Royal free city

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 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.

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

Arad railway station

Rába at Győr

View from above Kežmarok (Késmárk)

Kleinhöflein (Kishöflány) im Burgenland at the foot of the Leitha Mountains (Lajta-hegység)

Levoča (Lőcse) from Mariánska hora (Máriahegy)

Novi Sad (Újvidék)

Zvolen (Zólyom)

Current English name	Hungarian name	Other historical names
Alba Iulia	Gyulafehérvár	German: Karlsburg
Arad	Arad
Baia Mare	Nagybánya	German: Frauenbach
Baia Sprie	Felsőbánya	German: Mittelstadt
Banská Bystrica	Besztercebánya
Banská Štiavnica	Selmecbánya
Bardejov	Bártfa
Bistrița	Beszterce	German: Bistritz
Bratislava	Pozsony	German: Pressburg, Slovak: Prešporok, Croatian: Požun
Brezno	Breznóbánya
Budapest (Buda)	Buda
Cluj-Napoca	Kolozsvár	German: Klausenburg, Romanian: Cluj
Debrecen	Debrecen	Croatian: Debrecin
Eisenstadt	Kismarton
Erzsébetváros	Erzsébetváros
Esztergom	Esztergom
Gherla	Szamosújvár	German: Neuschloss
Győr	Győr
Hódmezővásárhely		Hódmező-Vásárhely
Kecskemét
Kežmarok	Késmárk
Komárom	Komárom
Košice	Kassa	German: Kas‌‌‌schau
Kőszeg	Kőszeg
Kremnica	Körmöcbánya
Levoča	Lőcse
Ľubietová	Libetbánya
Mediaș	Medgyes	German: Mediasch
Modra	Modor
Nová Baňa	Újbánya
Novi Sad	Újvidék
Oradea	Nagyvárad	Croatian: Veliki Varadin
Orăștie	Szászváros	German: Broos
Pécs	Pécs	Croatian: Pečuh
Pest	Pest
Pezinok	Bazin
Prešov	Eperjes
Pukanec	Bakabánya
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	Schäßburg
Skalica	Szakolca
Sombor	Zombor
Sopron	Sopron
Subotica	Szabadka
Szeged	Szeged	Croatian: Segedin
Székesfehérvár	Székesfehérvár
Târgu-Mureș	Marosvásárhely	German: Neumarkt am Marosch
Timișoara	Temesvár	German: Temeschvar, Croatian: Temišvar
Trenčín	Trencsén
Trnava	Nagyszombat
Veľký Šariš	Nagysáros
Zvolen	Zólyom

In the Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia

Name	Hungarian name	Other historical names and notes
Bakar
Bihać	Bihács	Bišće, Bić; until the loss to the Ottoman Empire in 1592
Karlovac
Koprivnica
Krapina	Korpona
Križevci
Osijek
Požega
Rijeka	Fiume	Corpus separatum
Ruma
Samobor
Senj
Sisak
Varaždin
Vukovar	Vukovár, Valkóvár	German: Wukowar
Virovitica
Zagreb	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	Brassó	German: Kronstadt
Miskolc		Croatian: Miškolc
Kiskunfélegyháza		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

See also

• Administrative divisions of the Kingdom of Hungary
• Free city (disambiguation)
• Free Royal Cities Act
• List of free royal cities of Croatia
• Royal city in Poland (Polish: Miasto Królewskie)

Sources

• Štefánik, Martin; Lukačka, Ján, eds. (2010). Lexikón stredovekých miest na Slovensku [Lexicon of Medieval Towns in Slovakia] (PDF) (in Slovak and English). Bratislava: Historický ústav SAV. ISBN 978-80-89396-11-5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-03-02. Retrieved 2016-11-26.
• Sršan, Stjepan (2012). "Povratak ustavnog poretka u Hrvatskoj 1860. godine i politički stavovi biskupa Josipa J. Strossmayera do kraja 1862. godine - za 150. obljetnicu višestranačkog rada Hrvatskog sabora" [The Restoration of Constitutional Order in Croatia in 1860 and Political Position of Bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer at the End of 1862. In honour of the 150th Anniversary of the Multi-Party System in Croatian Parliament]. Povijesni zbornik : godišnjak za kulturu i povijesno naslijeđe (in Croatian). 4 (5). Department of History, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Osijek.
• Holjevac, Željko; Rimac, Marko (2011). "Zemlje ugarske krune u doba mađarskoga milenija" [Lands of the Holy Crown of Hungary at the time of the Hungarian Millenium]. Historijski zbornik (in Croatian). 64 (1). Croatian Historical Society.
• Lozina, Duško; Jagnjić, Josipa (2021). "Razvoj lokalne samouprave u Republici Hrvatskoj" [Development of local self-government in the Republic of Croatia]. Zbornik radova Pravnog fakulteta u Splitu (in Croatian). 58 (2). Faculty of Law, University of Split.