Abstract
The charter granted by Emperor Ferdinand II for Moravian Jews on 15 October 1629 was the first legal document of its kind after two centuries, redefining the legal status of Jews in Moravia. An important role in the preparation of this document was played by Cardinal Franz von Dietrichstein, the Governor of Moravia in the period after the Battle of White Mountain, who effectively opposed the ruler's disproportionate tax demands on Jews.
Having pre-negotiated all the main aspects of the charter in correspondence with the emperor, Dietrichstein's position as the main proponent of Moravian Jews strongly came to the fore. Although the original charter has not been preserved, it exists in draft form and in a number of copies.
An analysis of its content has enabled a comparison with similar charters in Bohemia and Lower Austria. In addition to redefining the legal status of Moravian Jews, the charter had several other major consequences: an accelerated process of institutionalizing the provincial representation of the Moravian Jewry, the relocation of the seat of the Chief Rabbi of Moravia to Mikulov (Nikolsburg), and a long-term dispute between Jews and Moravian royal towns concerning the possibility of entering these towns for their markets - a right that had been denied Jews prior to the granting of the charter.