including for livestock. All these created an excessive burden on the infrastructure and
communications of the city, which was then difficult to return to normal condition. On
the other hand, the privilege determines a special place of Lviv as the key defense
outpost of the region, which was perceived by the local population as the most secure
one. Hence, the privilege made this security a payable city service.
As already mentioned, the privileges were granted not only to promote
strengthening of the city's defense capability, but also to eliminate natural disasters that
the city often suffered from. Thus, as a result of the fire in the late 15
th
century several
towers were burnt down, and because of the flood of 1514, the Poltva River swept the
whole shaft [6, p. 102,104]. The most devastating fire in the history of the city, which
caused large-scale damage to Lviv, was recorded in 1527, as a result of which the city
was practically burned down. During the explosion of city’s arsenals,walls and towers
of the city were seriously destroyed. In general, during 1380–1734, the city burned 14
times [6, p. 105]. Due to the destruction of the city's defense capability because of
natural disasters, which made their adjustments to the strength of the defensive
structures of Lviv, forced the monarchs and the magistrate to seek ways to restore and
strengthen the city's fortificationsover and over again. To restore city fortifications and
Lviv’s power after the fire of 1527, we can trace a series of documentary
communications from the royal chancellery. King Sigismund issues a number of
privileges that exempted the townsmen of Lviv from paying tribute for twenty years,
the czopowe – for seven years, and also banned the construction of wooden buildings.
[7, p. 208
–210]. In order to restore urban fortifications after the destructive fire of 1527,
Sigismund granted the city the right to collect czopowe tax – for two years in 1532 and
for six years in 1535 [7, p. 222
–224].
Sigismund I granted a privilege in 1531, whereby he established in Lviv a bridge
duty in the amount of two denarii in favor of the Lviv magistrate. The object of taxation
in privilege was as common population and the visiting merchants. The collected funds
should have been allocated for the reconstruction and repair of Lviv bridges, which,
judging by the privilege, were perceived as important strategic sites [7, p. 216
–218].
Next year, on August 1in Krakow, King Sigismund granted permission to build a mill
on the city shaft near the walls of the city. This time the mill itself was the strategic
object for the defense of the city. One of the motives for constructing a new mill, stated
in the narration of the privilege, was the fact that the old mills that were beyond the
Poltva River became easily accessible to the enemyin the event of a war. Therefore,
the king allowed the mill to be built on the city shaft, where they believedthe enemies
would not be able to devastate and destroy it [7, p. 219
–221].
The successor of Sigismund I, Sigismund II Augustus with his privilege-
confirmation of April 5, 1552, resolved the provision of activity of the guard of the
Lviv gates. Referring to the ancient custom, the king confirmed the right of the guards
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