Published: 2025-12-30

The 1551 census of the inhabitants of Nysa

Ewa Wółkiewicz
The Quarterly of the History of Material Culture
Section: Studies and Materials
DOI https://doi.org/10.23858/KHKM73.2025.4.002

Abstract

The article presents a census of the inhabitants of Nysa, compiled on the order of the city council in November 1551. It is the earliest surviving register of the entire urban population from the territory of present-day Poland. The paper outlines the circumstances that prompted the decision to conduct the census and offers an analysis of its contents. The data contained in the register allow to determine the degree of feminisation of the urban population and the number of servants employed within households. Particularly important is the information on the number of children, which enables a reassessment of previous estimates of fertility among burgher families.

Keywords:

Silesia, demography, natural disasters, urban history, social structure

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Wółkiewicz, E. (2025). The 1551 census of the inhabitants of Nysa. The Quarterly of the History of Material Culture, 73(4), 485–500. https://doi.org/10.23858/KHKM73.2025.4.002

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