Chrzanów

Chrzanów grew from an old fortified centre on the western edge of Lesser Poland. Re-established under Magdeburg law in the fourteenth century, it belonged for many generations to the powerful noble Ligęza family until 1640. Unlike many fortified towns of the period, Chrzanów appears to have remained open, without defensive walls.

Its position near Silesia helped make cattle trading a distinctive occupation: a customs house dealt with cattle exported across the border. Townspeople also mined, smelted and traded ore, while guilds of weavers, tailors, shoemakers, smiths and butchers worked in the town. Sigismund II Augustus granted additional fairs in the sixteenth century, and John II Casimir added further privileges in 1654. The town later passed through the hands of several noble families.