THE RECONSTRUCTION OF POŽEGA COUNTY
In 1745, Queen Maria Theresa founded three Slavonian counties: Požega, Srijem and Virovitica. Požega County consisted of two districts: Pakrac and Požega, which was the seat of the county. Baron Vladislav Vajaj de Vaya was the first county prefect. The coat of arms of Požega County dates back to 1748.
The 18th century was marked by great changes and reforms in the judicial system, economy, and education. The Prefect Josip Antun Čolnić, who was also the Bishop of Bosnia and Đakovo, and Count Antun Janković Daruvarski, were particularly notable in this field. The county seat was located in the chamber house, on the site of which a sumptuous palace was built, now being the seat of the county administration. Many acts, documents and charters have been preserved from that time.
FREE ROYAL CITY
By the Charter of Queen Maria Theresa of 1 September 1765, Požega became the only royal city in Slavonia at that time. All the rights of a free royal city were confirmed by the Charter, including the organization of annual fairs, the election of judges and councilors, as well as the collection of public taxes. This Charter was destroyed by a fire in 1842. The following period was marked by a population increase and the city expansion. To maintain order and peace, a city guard was established. The city hall was located in St. Trinity Square, but it burned down in 1779 in one of the fires. Therefore, in 1785, a new city hall, “the magistrat”, was built.
POŽEGA GUILDS
As the center of the county, in the 18th century, Požega experienced economic and cultural development. This was especially reflected in crafts and trade, but also in the connections with other counties in Slavonia. Craftsmen joined in guilds and professional associations. There were also well-known guilds of furriers, belt makers, goldsmiths, button makers, shoemakers, tailors and so on. Guild charters with rulers' privileges, guild chests for safeguarding valuables, guild certificates, flags, spears and various other items have been preserved.