The promotion of the city’s development and thus also its legal constitution can be traced back to the Ottonian rulers and in particular to Otto the Great (r. 936-973) and his son Otto II (r. 973-983) and paved the way for Magdeburg’s fame and importance to spread to Eastern and Central Europe through the dissemination and adoption of Magdeburg law.

The term Magdeburg law initially refers to the law of the City of Magdeburg, which was passed down orally and consisted of the legal customs of the merchants, the privileges granted by the sovereigns and city lords and the regulations passed independently by its citizens. Magdeburg law was not a concrete, coherent body of laws, but rather a collection of norms and legal concepts that were highly variable and adaptable in individual cases, enabling the citizens of the city to live in freedom and self-determination in the sense of local self-government.

Originating in Magdeburg, Magdeburg law spread widely in time and space due to its innovative character. It had a decisive influence on the medieval and early modern legal systems of Central and Eastern Europe. Over the centuries, Magdeburg law was applied in various ways in over 1,000 places in present-day Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine and Russia. […]

In some regions, Magdeburg law was still part of the legal system well into the 19th century, and even today it is part of the cultural memory of the towns and cities that were once under its jurisdiction.

source: https://magdeburg-law.com/de/magdeburger-recht/magdeburger-recht/