Between the 13th and 17th centuries,The Hanseatic League, or
Die Hanse, established and maintained a trade monopoly over
the Baltic Sea and most of Northern Europe, taking the place of
Visby, the previous center of trade. Generally agreed to have
started in Lübeck, the League became the center of all the sea
trade that linked the areas around the North Sea and the Baltic
Sea and acted as a base for northern German merchants who
spread east and north. Key towns such as Danzig and Riga were
established on the east Baltic coast under Lübeck law, which
mandated that they had to obey Lübeck's city council in all legal
matters. Hansa societies worked to acquire special trade privileges
for their members, and Lübeck, with access to the Baltic and
North Sea, was the only Imperial city east of the River Elbe.
Die Hanse, established and maintained a trade monopoly over
the Baltic Sea and most of Northern Europe, taking the place of
Visby, the previous center of trade. Generally agreed to have
started in Lübeck, the League became the center of all the sea
trade that linked the areas around the North Sea and the Baltic
Sea and acted as a base for northern German merchants who
spread east and north. Key towns such as Danzig and Riga were
established on the east Baltic coast under Lübeck law, which
mandated that they had to obey Lübeck's city council in all legal
matters. Hansa societies worked to acquire special trade privileges
for their members, and Lübeck, with access to the Baltic and
North Sea, was the only Imperial city east of the River Elbe.
Lübeck and Hamburg, later joined by Köln, formed an alliance in 1241, gaining control over most of
the salt-fish trade and access to salt-trade routes from Lüneburg. In 1266, the Lübeck and Hamburg
Hansa, joined by Köln in 1282, were granted a charter for operations in England by Henry III. Over
time, their network of alliances formed throughout the Holy Roman Empire grew to include around
170 cities, and the league established significant additional Kontors, or trading centers, in present-day
Belgium, Norway, Denmark and England, trading in timber, furs, resin, flax, honey, wheat and rye,
copper, iron and herring. German colonists under Hanse supervision built numerous Hanse towns in
the Baltic such as Reval, Riga, and Dorpat. They trained pilots and erected lighthouses. Eventually,
the Hanse capital moved to Danzig, the main port for merchandise traded along the Vistula river.
Other important cities which became members of the Hanse included Thorn, Elbing, Königsberg, and
Krakow. At their height of its power in the late 1300s, the Hanseatic League wielded significant
economic clout and their well-armed ships could even influence Imperial policy.
the salt-fish trade and access to salt-trade routes from Lüneburg. In 1266, the Lübeck and Hamburg
Hansa, joined by Köln in 1282, were granted a charter for operations in England by Henry III. Over
time, their network of alliances formed throughout the Holy Roman Empire grew to include around
170 cities, and the league established significant additional Kontors, or trading centers, in present-day
Belgium, Norway, Denmark and England, trading in timber, furs, resin, flax, honey, wheat and rye,
copper, iron and herring. German colonists under Hanse supervision built numerous Hanse towns in
the Baltic such as Reval, Riga, and Dorpat. They trained pilots and erected lighthouses. Eventually,
the Hanse capital moved to Danzig, the main port for merchandise traded along the Vistula river.
Other important cities which became members of the Hanse included Thorn, Elbing, Königsberg, and
Krakow. At their height of its power in the late 1300s, the Hanseatic League wielded significant
economic clout and their well-armed ships could even influence Imperial policy.
Amsterdam merchants eventually won free access
to the Baltic and broke the Hansa monopoly in the
Dutch-Hanseatic War (1438 - 1441). Meanwhile, the
League had refused to offer reciprocal arrangements
to English traders and Queen Elizabeth I expelled the
League from London by 1597. There was also inter-
League tension and rivalry.
to the Baltic and broke the Hansa monopoly in the
Dutch-Hanseatic War (1438 - 1441). Meanwhile, the
League had refused to offer reciprocal arrangements
to English traders and Queen Elizabeth I expelled the
League from London by 1597. There was also inter-
League tension and rivalry.
| Die Hanse |
Above top to bottom: Lübeck, Hamburg & Danzig
| Lübeck Hamburg Lüneburg Rostock Stade Stettin Stralsund Wismar Kiel Brunswick Braunschweig Berlin Brandenburg Bremen Erfurt Frankfurt (Oder) Goslar Halle (Saale) Magdeburg Danzig Breslau Dorpat Fellin Elbing Königsberg Reval Riga Stockholm Thorn Visby Kraków Duisburg Zwolle Hattem Hasselt Cologne Dortmund Soest Osnabrück Münster Roermond Deventer Groningen Kampen Bochum Recklinghausen Hamm Unna Zutphen Oldenzaal Breckerfeld Bergen-Bryggen Bruges/Brugge London Novgorod Antwerp Boston Damme Edinburgh Hull Ipswich King's Lynn Kaunas Newcastle Polotsk Pskov Great Yarmouth York Anklam Arnhem Bolsward Brandenburg Wenden Kulm Doesburg Duisburg Einbeck Göttingen Greifswald Goldingen Hafnarfjord Halle Harlingen Hannover Herford Hildesheim Hindeloopen Kalmar Kokenhusen Lemgo Merseburg Minden Münster Narwa Nijmegen Oldenzaal Paderborn Pernau Perleberg Quedlinburg Salzwedel Smolensk Stargard Stendal Turku Tver Wolmar Wesel Wiburg Windau Zutphen Zwolle |
| Hanseatic League Cities, Kontors, and cities with a Hanse presence: |
The League was sinking under the progress around it
and its decline began, further eroded by the chaos of
the Reformation, the new power of English and
Dutch merchants and the effects of the Ottoman
Turks on shipping routes. By the time of the last
Hansa meeting in 1669, only nine members attended.
Only Lübeck, Hamburg and Bremen remained as
members until its final demise in 1862.
and its decline began, further eroded by the chaos of
the Reformation, the new power of English and
Dutch merchants and the effects of the Ottoman
Turks on shipping routes. By the time of the last
Hansa meeting in 1669, only nine members attended.
Only Lübeck, Hamburg and Bremen remained as
members until its final demise in 1862.
Changes in European economy, emerging territories,
new forms of currency and different shipping
practises all put the League in a weaker position as
the Swedish Empire took control of much of the
Baltic, Denmark regained control over its own trade,
the Kontors in Novgorod and in Brugge were closed
or defunct, and the authority of the German princes
grew more powerful.
new forms of currency and different shipping
practises all put the League in a weaker position as
the Swedish Empire took control of much of the
Baltic, Denmark regained control over its own trade,
the Kontors in Novgorod and in Brugge were closed
or defunct, and the authority of the German princes
grew more powerful.