Burgher (social class)

Bürgher was a rank or title of a privileged citizen of a medieval to early modern European town. Burghers formed the pool from which city officials could be drawn, and their immediate families that formed the social class of the medieval bourgeoisie.

Admission
Entry into burgher status varied from country to country and city to city. In Hungary, proof of ownership of property in a town was a condition for acceptance as a burgher.

Privileges
Any crime against a burgher was taken as a crime against the city community. In Switzerland, if a burgher was assassinated, the other burghers had the right to bring the alleged murderer to trial by judicial combat.

In the Netherlands, burghers were often exempted from corvée or forced labor, a privilege which later extended to the Dutch East Indies. Effectively, only burghers could join the city guard in Amsterdam because in order to join, guardsmen had to purchase their own expensive equipment. Membership in the guard was often a stepping stone to political positions.

Specific cities

 * Bourgeois of Brussels
 * Bourgeois of Paris
 * Bourgeoisie of Geneva
 * Hanseaten