The Hanseatic League in Medieval Europe
Exploring the Cities & Ports of the Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was a 14th to 17th century confederation of merchant guilds and their market towns. Founded towards the end of the 12th century by a small group of German towns on the Baltic Sea, the league went on to include some two hundred towns and dominate maritime trade in northern Europe for around four hundred years. Ports and cities in the league stretched from, what was then, Prussia in the east to England in the west, present day Bergen (Norway) in the north to Krakow (Poland) in the south.
The name Hanse or Hansa was the Middle Low German word for a convoy, which is how bands of merchants travelled between cities and ports by land and sea – largely because of the risk of piracy on the seas. The Hanseatic League was founded as a union of a few north German towns to protect their guilds’ economic interests and improve trading conditions. Also to establish diplomatic ties and privileges along the trade routes merchants established with foreign trading posts (known as Kontors). Although Hanseatic cities had their own legal system and maintained their own armies for mutual protection and aid, they were not a Medieval state.
Many warehouses and other trade-related buildings used by the Hansa merchants survive in a number of former Hanseatic cities and kontors. This trade and maritime heritage is often promoted by tourist boards and historical associations. Many destinations have Hansa museums, historical trails and some even host a programme of events throughout the year commemorating significant historical dates in the history of the Hanseatic League.
Hanseatic Cities & Ports in Germany

Lübeck: Queen of the Hanseatic League
