The Nobility in Little Carpathian Towns in Early Modern History (16th-18th centuries)

The study deals with the issue of the presence of nobles in three towns – Modra (Modor, Modern, Modorinum), Pezinok (Bazin, Bösing, Bazinium) Svätý Jur (Szentgyörgy, Sankt Georgen, Sanctus Georgius) – located under the slopes of the Little Carpathians mountain range. The author studies the motivations that caused the members of the middle and lower Hungarian nobility settle down in towns, as well as the reactions of the town and municipality to this trend. A mode of coexistence that would be acceptable for both sides and that would not harm the town's economic and political interests and at the same time would respect the privileges of the nobility, was searched for in the following period. It was found during the 17th century, this being evident from statutes from the second half of the 17th century that regulated the relationship between the town and nobility, as well as the fact that the majority of positions in the municipalities of these towns was held by noblemen or nobilitated burghers. Never-ending sources of serious conflict were the free mansions and their owners who robbed the town of much of its income from wine and beer. State-implemented counter-reformation, propagated mainly by the Catholic noble families that resided in towns, significantly intervened with the town as an entity, its functioning and municipality.