Jomoud's Fotothing

My 2008 trip to Holland

VIANEN

Each Wednesday afternoon is market in Vianen.
Few residents realize that this is a continuation of one of the privileges that the City obtained when it received its City Rights in 1336.

Privileges obtained with the granting of City Rights.

City walls (the right to erect a defence wall around an inhabited area)
Market right (the right to hold a market and receive income from the markets)
Storage right (the right to store and exclusively trade particular goods, often only granted to a few cities)
Toll right (the right to charge toll)
Mint right (the right to mint city coinage)
Freedoms
Personal freedom (citizens had a relative degree of personal freedom in comparison to citizens of rural areas: they were not subject to the liegelord and had freedom of mobility) — Hence the old saying Stadslucht maakt vrij ('City air makes free').
Governance
City governance (Well-to-do citizens could sometimes elect local government officials)
Judiciary and law making (Within its boundaries the city could have a large degree of autonomy)
Taxation (the right to levy taxes)