A city charter or town charter (generically, municipal charter) is a legal document establishing a municipality such as a city or town. The concept developed in Europe during the middle ages. For the similarly-named Surrealist journal, see Documents (journal). ... A municipality is an administrative entity composed of a clearly defined territory and its population and commonly referring to a city, town, or village, or a small grouping of them. ... Look up city, City in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Ronda, Spain Main street in Bastrop, Texas, United States, a small town A town is a community of people ranging from a few hundred to several thousands, although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan areas. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ...

Traditionally the granting of a charter gave a settlement and its inhabitants the right to town privileges under the feudal system. People who lived in chartered towns were burghers, as opposed to serfs who lived in villages. Towns were often "free", in the sense that they were directly protected by the king or emperor, and were not part of a feudal fief. Town privileges was an important feature of European towns during most of the 2nd millenium. ... Burgher can refer to: A title. ... Costumes of Slaves or Serfs, from the Sixth to the Twelfth Centuries, collected by H. de Vielcastel, from original Documents in the great Libraries of Europe. ... Fief depiction in a book of hours Under the system of feudalism, a fiefdom, fief, feud, feoff, or fee, often consisted of inheritable lands or revenue-producing property granted by a liege lord in return for a form of allegiance, originally to give him the means to fulfill his military...

Today the process for granting charters is done by states is determined by the type of government of the state in question. In monarchies, the charters is still often a royal charter given by the Crown or the state authorities acting on behalf of the Crown. In federations, the granted of charters may be delegated to the lower level of government such as a state or province. A Royal Charter is a charter given by a monarch to legitimize an incorporated body, such as a city, company, university or such. ... Throughout the Commonwealth Realms The Crown is an abstract concept which represents the legal authority for the existence of any government. ... For other uses, see State (disambiguation). ... A province is a territorial unit, almost always a country subdivision. ...

Canada

Main article: Local government in Canada

In Canada charters are granted by provincial authorities. Local government in Canada lies at a lower level than federal and provincial government. ... Regions Political culture Foreign relations Other countriesAtlas  Politics Portal      Canada is a federation which consists of ten provinces that, with three territories, make up the worlds second largest country in total area. ...

Sweden

In Sweden until 1951, cities were established by royal charter; see City status in Sweden. A Royal Charter is a charter given by a monarch to legitimize an incorporated body, such as a city, company, university or such. ... Historically, the city status in Sweden, or stad, was granted through a Royal Charter. ...

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, towns and cities are established by royal charter; see city status in the United Kingdom. A Royal Charter is a charter given by a monarch to legitimize an incorporated body, such as a city, company, university or such. ... Historically, city status in England and Wales was associated with the presence of a cathedral, such as York Minster. ...

United States

In the United States, such charters are established either directly by a state legislature by means of local legislation, or indirectly under a general municipal corporation law, usually after the proposed charter has passed a referendum vote of the affected population. It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Chief Justice Associate Justices Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures State Courts Counties, Cities, and Towns Other countries Politics Portal      In the United States of America, a state legislature is a generic term referring to the... Special legislation (also called local legislation) is a legal term of art used in the United States which refers to acts of a state legislature which apply only to a specific municipality (or a group thereof) which is identified by name in the legislation. ... A Municipal Corporation is a legal defintion for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, and towns. ... For other uses, see Law (disambiguation). ... Elections Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      A referendum (plural: referendums or referenda) or plebiscite (from Latin plebiscita, originally a decree of the Concilium Plebis) is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. ...

See also

• German town law