The location privilege of town of Kremenchuk (1635)

The objective of the work is to study the oldest period in the history of town of Kremenchuk through the coverage of circumstances of obtaining the right of self-government in the 30s of 17th century. The scientifi c novelty lies in the introduction into scientifi c circulation of the location privilege, according to which King Vladislav IV granted the Magdeburg rights to Kremenchuk in 1635. The document was found by accident in the 1647 Halych castle court records. This privilege was considered either lost or such that it was probably never granted until now, given the specifi cs of Kremenchuk as a defence cell. The document of granting the place of Kremenchuk (1633) to the future town locator, the rittmeister of the crown army Stefan Rucki (Rudzki) for lifelong possession is also published in the article for the fi rst time. The methodological basis of the research is based on the principles of objectivity and historicism. Historical-critical (analytical and synthetic critique of sources), historical-legal and historical-comparative methods are involved. The methods of archaeography are also used for the publication of the documents. The prospects of further research is in active involvement of the castle court books to identify valuable documents relating to the history of the spread of Magdeburg law in the Ukrainian lands. Such documents are accumulated in large numbers in these books. Conclusions. The privilege of granting the Magdeburg law we found specifi es the data of formation of Kremenchuk as a complete town (January 8, 1635). According to the document, Kremenchuk received the right of self-government (all town offi cials – voit, burgomaster and seven councilors – were to be appointed by town lease-holder), weekly auctions (every Friday) and annual fairs (twice a year – on the day of John the Baptist and on the Candlemas). The analysis of text of the document points to a number of borrowings from another two-year-old Magdeburg privilege granted by Vladislav IV to Nowe Miasto on the outskirts of Wschowa (Freistadt) in the Poznań Voivodeship. Identical wording is found in the passages about duty exemption, about other freedoms granted for the development of trade, the obligation to gather in the castle and defend the town in the event of enemy attacks etc.