Incorporation of the town

The incorporation of Stargard under Magdeburg law was a natural next step for the rapidly growing burgh and the area, capping the local residents’ efforts to gain the desired status in the Duchy of Pomerania. Incorporation introduced new laws and allowed new residents to settle in the town. The ceremony of granting the town charter by Duke Barnim I took place on 24 June 1243, on the Nativity of John the Baptist. The charter gave Stargard the right to organise its own authorities and jurisdiction, 150 lans of land, the right to navigate on the Ina, customs privileges and the right to fell trees in the Duke’s forests. The Griffonet with items related to Medieval construction technology refers to town charter granted to Stargard which required the local authorities to stake out streets and quarters, build town walls, churches and the Town Hall.