1345 · 1458 The town that grew on a detourMestečko, ktoré vyrástlo na obchádzke

Košice had been given trading rights and tolls that made passing through it expensive, so merchants heading for the Gemer took the side road through Moldava instead — and Moldava grew on their custom. In 1345 it received market privileges; Slovak sources call it a free royal town, Hungarian ones a market town, and the exact rank is genuinely disputed. By 1458 it had a school of its own and several craft guilds, and it made its living from wine and pottery. A town that lives on a detour prospers exactly as long as the detour is worth taking, which is a lesson Moldava learned twice over.Košice dostali obchodné práva a mýta, pre ktoré bola cesta cez ne drahá, a tak kupci mieriaci na Gemer volili bočnú cestu cez Moldavu — a Moldava z ich obchodu vyrástla. V roku 1345 získala trhové výsady; slovenské pramene hovoria o slobodnom kráľovskom meste, maďarské len o zemepanskom mestečku a presné postavenie je naozaj sporné. Do roku 1458 mala vlastnú školu a niekoľko remeselníckych cechov a živila sa vínom a hrnčiarstvom. Mesto, ktoré žije z obchádzky, prosperuje presne dovtedy, kým sa tá obchádzka oplatí — a to si Moldava vyskúšala dvakrát.