ORIGIN OF TOWNS OF MIDDLE AGE
The first Hungarian ruler who began to give liberty to the marketing centres in the form of lists of
privileges, was Belo IV. (1235 - 1270). He wanted to revive workmanlike production and trade introducing these methods. That's why first he centred on Slovakia where during the 11th and 12th century the first marketing and manufacturing centres were founded.
Belo IV. and his successors gave the privileges to localities situated on the important trading routes and to localities with the important deposit of any kind of ores. In the first phase they gave the privileges to economical centres under the older castles and to the important market-places near the trading routes. In the mining areas they gave these privileges to the old mining localities, where the mining and elaboration of ores were quite developped, but also to the villages where the deposits were just discovered.
