Małopolskie miasta prywatne w XIII–XVI wieku
Private towns of Lesser Poland in the 13th–16th century

Summary/Abstract: Even though private towns constituted 2/3 of all urban centres founded in Lesser Poland in the 13th–16th century, they have not yet been properly researched, mostly due to the scarcity of source materials. The author carries out a comprehensive analysis of the chronology of town foundation in Lesser Poland and presented statistics concerning towns in a table. He concludes that main urban centres, belonging to the king and the Church, were founded in Lesser Poland until the end of the Piastera. The urbanisation in the region was at its most dynamic during the reign of Casimir the Great.Later on, towns were founded mostly in less developed and built-up areas of Sandomierszczyzna and Lubelskie Voivodeship, which in the 15th and, most prominently, in the 16th century experienced an uncontrolled wave of foundations of magnate and noble towns, with almost total disappearance of royal foundations. Private towns had diverse economic functions. Most of them also served as educational centres.

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