Stockholm During The Early Vasa Era - City of The State

City of The State

On the day he entered Stockholm, Gustav Vasa guaranteed citizens who wished to stay in the city protection of their lives and property, and, for those who preferred to leave, the right to bring personal property with them if real property was turned over to the king. The king finally restored the privileges of the city in 1529. They were mostly identical to the privileges the city had in 1436 and proved beneficiary to the burghers of the city, giving them monopoly to several important trades. To maintain his control over the city, the king, just like King Christian before him, acted by means of directly controlling the elections of aldermen and magistrates. Initially, Vasa's influence over these appointments seem to have been somewhat balanced by the laws of the rural districts (concerning the appointment of the judges in the hundreds, häradshövdingar) which stipulated the king should choose the most suitable leader among three proposed candidates. During most of his rule, however, his strong position made any such limitations in his influence unlikely, and the delimitation between the jurisdiction of the state and that of the city in which it resided, must have been vague. By the mid-century, the number of city officials increased from 12 and up to 19, not only in order to make management more professional, but also because the state wanted more control over trade, demands that burdened the still volunteered members of the city council, most of whom were merchants (only three prominent craftsmen are mentioned 1545-1559). The city thus lost much of the independence it had during the Middle Ages and became politically and financially bound to the state.

The death of Gustav Vasa hardly caused any changes in local government. During the reign of his sons (1561-1611) the city council remained escorted by a royal representative and both magistrates and aldermen were appointed by the king.