Market towns in the Low Countries

One of the city rights was the right bestowed on a settlement to organise markets. In most cases all the legal rights were bestowed on a settlement making it a city (stad). In the Low Countries no distinction was made between cities and towns. Some cities however were never fortified -Oisterwijk, St Oedenrode, Schagen, Hoogstraten, Poperinge to name a few- and could thus be equated to towns. Another category of settlements without fortifications are the market towns.

Market rights were designated in early medieval times. In 800 Charlemagne granted market rights to Esslingen am Neckar. The conferment of market rights was one of the regalia in the Holy Roman Empire and persisted throughout the centuries that followed. The modern-day Low Countries were part of the Holy Roman Empire as a collection of territories: Holland, Zealand, Utrecht, Guelders, Drenthe, Frisia, Groningen (together the seven United Netherlands after 1581), Flanders, Brabant, Hainault, Namur, Liège and Luxemburg. Parts of what is now the Netherlands were part of Juliers. With the rise of these territories the Dukes, Prince-Bishops and Counts made good use of their ability to designate market rights under German Law.

In the Low Countries it is evident that most settlements that were granted market rights were also granted other city rights. In a few areas in Frisia, Brabant, Hainault and Holland market towns were created to encourage business and trade to be concentrated in certain places and thus develop the territory. The people in the town often had a monopoly over the trade or purchase of certain wares. Commercial privileges included bull markets, horse markets, butter markets, cheese markets, cloth markets and so on. Most market towns look like villages with the exception of the presence of a large market square and specialized non-rural buildings.

The market towns are clearly a minority in the Low Countries compared to the cities. The market towns are also clearly aggregated in certain areas. The market towns around The Hague stand out together with the Frisian market towns and the central Brabantian market towns. The market towns in Hainault are less distinct in distribution but clearly visible.