Kulm law, Culm law or Chełmno Law (german: Kulmer Recht; lat, Jus Culmense vetus; pl, Prawo chełmińskie) was a legal constitution for a municipal

form of government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

used in several Central European cities during the Middle Ages. It was initiated on 28 December 1233 in the Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights by Hochmeister

Hermann von Salza Hermann von Salza (or Herman of Salza; c. 1165 – 20 March 1239) was the fourth Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, serving from 1210 to 1239. A skilled diplomat with ties to the Holy Roman Emperor and the Pope, Hermann oversaw the expansio ...

and

Hermann Balk Hermann Balk (died March 5, 1239, Würzburg), also known as Hermann von Balk or Hermann Balke, was a Knight-Brother of the Teutonic Order and its first '' Landmeister'', or Provincial Master, in both Prussia and Livonia. From 1219 to 1227, he serv ...

when the towns of

Thorn Thorn(s) or The Thorn(s) may refer to: Botany * Thorns, spines, and prickles, sharp structures on plants * ''Crataegus monogyna'', or common hawthorn, a plant species Comics and literature * Rose and Thorn, the two personalities of two DC Com ...

(Toruń) and Chełmno (Kulm) received

German town law The German town law (german: Deutsches Stadtrecht) or German municipal concerns (''Deutsches Städtewesen'') was a set of early town privileges based on the Magdeburg rights developed by Otto I. The Magdeburg Law became the inspiration for regional ...

, in particular as a modification of Magdeburg rights. Named after the town it was signed in, the original document (''Kulmer Handfeste'') was lost in 1244 when the town hall burned due to an attack by Swantopolk II, Duke of Pomerania. The renewed charter of 1 October 1251 was based on a copy in Thorn, but the rights were reduced. This type of law was mostly granted by the Teutonic Order to cities within their monastic state, but also adopted by cities elsewhere, mainly in the neighboring independent Duchy of Masovia. In addition, the Kulm law was expanded, independently from the Knights, to a larger set of laws called ''

Alter Kulm Alter may refer to: * Alter (name), people named Alter * Alter (automobile) * Alter (crater), a lunar crater * Alter Channel, a Greek TV channel * Archbishop Alter High School, a Roman Catholic high school in Kettering, Ohio * ALTER, a command in ...

''. Cities located under Kulm law include:

Literature

* ''Jus Culmense ex ultima revisione, oder das vollständige culmische Recht, mit Anmerkungen''. Danzig: Johann Friedrich Battels, 1767

* Janicka, Danuta. ''Prawo karne w trzech rewizjach prawa chełmińskiego z XVI wieku''. Toruń: TNT, 1992. * Janicka, Danuta. ''Nauka o winie i karze w dziejach klasycznej szkoły prawa karnego w Niemczech w 1 połowie XIX wieku''. Toruń: Wydaw. Uniwersytetu Mikołaja Kopernika, 1998. * Johanek, Peter. "Alter Kulm." In ''Die deutsche Literatur des Mittelalters. Verfasserlexikon'', vol. 1, edited by Kurt Ruh, 267–269. Berlin: Auflage, 1978. * Rogatschewski, Alexander. "Zur Geschichte des 'Alten Kulms' und anderer preußischer Rechtsbücher nach St. Petersburger Quellen." In ''Deutschsprachige Literatur des Mittelalters im Östlichen Europa: Forschungsstand und Forschungsperspektiven'', edited by R. G. Päsler and D. Schmidtke, 199–244. Heildelberg: Universitätsverlag Winter, 2006. * Päsler, Ralf G. ''Deutschsprachige Sachliteratur im Preußenland bis 1500: Untersuchungen zu ihrer Überlieferung'', 197, 222–224, 243–252. Köln: Bohlau, 2003. * Urban, William. ''The Prussian Crusade'', 123–128. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1980. Kulm law, Legal history of the Holy Roman Empire Urban planning in Germany {{Poland-hist-stub

See also

Literature