It is not even 200 years since the time when all land in Slovakia belonged to the nobility (secular or religious). After the abolition of serfdom in 1848, serfs had no land of their own.
Serfdom was abolished in Slovakia in 1848, but the land was not given to the common people until 1853 on the basis of a land patent. On the basis of this law (patent), part of the noble land was transferred to the former serfs and the nobility received compensation for this.
Sometimes the land patent is mistakenly confused with Maria Theresa’s reform of 1767, which, however, did not change the ownership of land, but was in fact only a list of serf obligations. Although this inventory was also used in 1853, it did not have a major impact on the status of the serfs and their property.
Despite the fact that the land patent of 1853 was probably the most important land reform in the history of Slovakia, there is very little literature on it. Yesterday, however, I found a lengthy (39-page) article from the 1950s that provides many interesting facts on the subject.
Although the article is ideologically coloured, it does not detract from the value of the facts.
The article can be found in the premium content.
