In his article, the author deals with the personality of Johann Schwarzenberg (1465-1528), who is considered an important German legal thinker of the Reformation period. This statement is especially justified by his authorship of the Bamberg Criminal Code of 1507, which is considered a direct model of the Imperial Criminal Code Constitutio Criminalis Carolina of 1532 ("Bambergensis est mater Carolinae").
After a brief information about Schwarzenberg's life, the author focuses on his concept of criminal law, as expressed in the Bamberg Criminal Code. In this context, in general, the author also deals with the source base of the then criminal law and its connection with theological and church law sciences.
Finally, at the end of the paper, the author underlines the importance of the Imperial Crim- inal Code, which can be considered a "great act of civilization" based on Schwarzenberg's contribution in the field of criminal law.