The Hanseatic League: merchants and towns

In short: The Hanseatic League (the Hansa) was an association of Low German merchants and later of many towns, which shaped trade in the North Sea and Baltic from the 12th to the 17th century. Its most important centre was Lübeck.

In more detail: The Hansa was not a state with a fixed constitution but a loose network with shared trading interests. It linked markets from England and Flanders to Scandinavia and Russia.

In detail

• Origins: At first, travelling merchants formed associations to protect one another. Later their home towns took over this role, which is known as the league of towns.
• Lübeck: The town on the River Trave was a hub between the North Sea and the Baltic and was regarded as the leading town of the league. The Hanseatic diets often met there.
• Hanseatic diet: At these assemblies, envoys of the towns discussed common matters such as trading rights, disputes and embassies.
• Kontors: Major trading posts abroad included those in London, Bruges, Bergen and Novgorod. There the merchants lived and traded under their own rules.
• Goods: Items traded included salt, herring, grain, timber, furs, wax, cloth and beer. In this way many everyday goods travelled long distances.
• Cog: The typical Hanseatic ship was the cog, a broad-bellied sailing ship with a large hold. A well-preserved 14th-century wreck was found in Bremen.
• Power: The Hansa could impose trade embargoes and also waged wars, for example against Denmark. The Peace of Stralsund in 1370 secured it extensive privileges.
• Decline: Stronger territorial rulers and states, competition from Dutch and English merchants and the shift of trade towards the Atlantic weakened the Hansa. The last Hanseatic diet was held in 1669.
• Today: Cities such as Hamburg, Bremen, Lübeck and Rostock still carry the title Hanseatic City in their names, and brick Gothic architecture recalls the league’s heyday (mittelalter-lebenswelt-und-gesellschaft, welthandelsrouten-von-der-seidenstrasse-bis-heute, wikingerzeit-grundlagen).