Around 1280, an economic heyday began in northern Germany:the Hanseatic League era. The Association of Cities developed from a loose interest group of merchants. Under the leadership of Lübeck traders, a network of economic connections between port cities on the North and Baltic Seas and commercial cities in the inland is created. The term Hanse for the league of cities was first used around 1282 by German merchants who worked in England - there is no specific founding date for the Hanseatic League.
From merchant association to power factor
At its most important time, around 200 cities in the North and Baltic Seas belonged to the Hanseatic League, including all the important merchant cities:from Lübeck, Bremen, Hamburg and Rostock to Königsberg and Danzig to inland towns such as Duderstadt, Hameln and Uelzen. The flow of goods usually flows via the Baltic Sea. Timber, skins, grain and other raw materials go to Western Europe, finished products such as wine and cloth to the eastern Baltic Sea coast. The organization becomes a major economic power. In the 16th century, the network of trade routes stretched from Portugal to Russia, from Scandinavia to southern Italy.
Cogs transport Hanse goods
Cogs - here a replica at a harbor festival - were easy to build, but required favorable wind conditions.The typical trading ship of the Hanseatic League is the cog:bulbous, spacious and quick to build. A single mast with a rectangular sail propels the cog. It can take a long time before the trade goods can be landed in the destination port. The ships almost always sail within sight of the coast. The seamen have to wait for favorable winds, because cogs cannot cross against the wind. The work on board the cogs is hard, there is a strict hierarchy. Deckhands are the "last man" who has to do everything that is too tedious for seasoned seafarers.
Two-tier society:merchants and day laborers
The merchants in the port cities are the beneficiaries of the growing long-distance trade. They amass great wealth. Meanwhile, day laborers are toiling away in the ports, most of whom live in miserable conditions in primitive wooden dwellings. The only sources of light there are the open fire and a hole in the roof. Many people have to fight for every meal.
Lübeck:gateway to Baltic trade
The Holsten Gate in Lübeck has always been a symbol of the wealth of the citizens and the power of the Hanseatic League.Lübeck, with its direct access to the Baltic Sea, is at times one of the main towns of the Hanseatic League. The city's shipowners and seafarers, citizens and merchants enjoy the greatest respect. From 1356 onwards, many council meetings were held in Lübeck's town hall. About 70 Hanseatic cities take part in these so-called Hanseatic Days. Lübeck gains additional weight through its cooperation with Hamburg. The Hamburg flow of goods for the Baltic Sea region flows through the city on the Trave. Hamburg uses its own ships on the North Sea.
Long-distance trade supplies Hanseatic cities
The Hanseatic cities not only earn a lot of money through trade. They can also increasingly be supplied by long-distance trade. The ships and carriages of the Hanse brought skins and textiles, but also food of all kinds, which the population of the growing cities depended on. Cereals and fish, salt, butter and cured meat are just as much a part of the Hanseatic cogs' cargo as wine and beer. Tons of payload is brought on board by hand.
The pirates - robber barons at sea
Great danger on the seas threatens merchant ships not only from storms but also from pirates. They lurk on the North and Baltic Seas until they discover a Hanseatic ship. And they almost never give up before they can sail away with rich spoils. They don't even spare human lives.
Sinister pirate or Robin Hood of the Hanseatic era? Klaus Stoertebeker.Pirates are not just rabble and criminals. Impoverished nobles can also be found in their ranks. In the 14th century, the pirates even became a war party, equipped with letters of marque from the Dukes of Mecklenburg in the throne dispute with Denmark. The most famous of the pirates are the Vital Brothers. They are also called Likedeelers - that means:They divide all the prey evenly among themselves. In contrast to the strict order that otherwise prevailed in the Middle Ages, they form a brotherhood with equal rights. The legendary Klaus Störtebeker is also one of the Likedeelers.
Hanse takes action against the pirates
The Hanseatic League was defenseless against the pirates for a long time, but in April 1400 the Hanseatic cities united against them:eleven cogs, 950 men under arms on board, set out from Hamburg to eliminate the Vitali brothers - with success. In 1401 the Hamburgers managed to capture Klaus Störtebeker as well:he was executed a little later in Hamburg.
In the 17th century things go downhill
In the centuries that followed, the alliance quickly lost importance. Merchants from other countries are successfully involved in trade, national interests stand in the way of the international alliance. The Hanseatic Day of 1669 went down in history as the last of the old Hanseatic Leagues - with only nine participants left.
A new Hanse is born
In 1980, the Hanseatic League of Modern Times was founded in Zwolle, the Netherlands:an association of cities that wanted to continue the tradition of the old Hanseatic League. In 2016, 187 cities in 16 countries belonged to it, most of which are German cities. Every year the association organizes a Hanseatic Day in one of the member cities. The new Hanse wants to promote the exchange between the cities in the cultural, scientific and social fields and strengthen the economic and commercial contacts of the places involved.
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