Hanseatic League

The Hanseatic League, commonly called The Hansa, was a medieval group of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. It started in the late 12th century from Lübeck and a few other North German towns. It grew to include nearly 200 places in eight modern countries. These places stretched from Estonia and Russia to the Netherlands and even to Cologne.

The League helped traders by offering protection and special rights in many cities and along trade routes. This made trade easier and safer. The Hanseatic League became powerful in controlling trade in the North and Baltic Seas. It set up important trading posts, called Kontors, in places like London, Bruges, Bergen, and Novgorod. These posts had their own rules and rights.

The Hanseatic League was not a tightly organized group. It did not have a central government, a special treasure chest for money, or a standing army. Instead, it worked through meetings where members talked and made decisions. Because of this loose structure, the League began to fall apart in the mid-16th century. By 1669, it had dissolved. Many of its members joined other countries or left on their own.

Etymology

The word "Hanse" comes from an Old High German word meaning a group or team. It was used for groups of merchants traveling between Hanseatic cities. In Middle Low German, "Hanse" came to mean a group of merchants or a trader club. It did not originally mean "on the sea," even though some people think it did.

History

Exploratory trading ventures, raids, and piracy happened around the Baltic Sea. Sailors from Gotland traveled up rivers as far as Novgorod in northwestern Russia. The Gothic court started around the turn of the 12th century. Major trade centers grew in the Baltic, and Novgorod became a major trade power. The Scandinavians led Baltic trade before the League, with big trading centers at Birka, Haithabu, and Schleswig by the 9th century CE. Later Hanseatic ports between Mecklenburg and Königsberg (today Kaliningrad) were part of this Scandinavian system.

The Hanseatic League was never formally founded, so we don’t know its exact start date. Historians often point to the rebuilding of Lübeck in 1159 by Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria, after he took the area from Adolf II, Count of Schauenburg and Holstein. Recent studies see Lübeck as one of several trading centers, with the League forming from a north German system focused on the Baltic and a Rhinelandic system aimed at England and Flanders.

German cities quickly took over trade in the Baltic during the 13th century, and Lübeck became a key center for sea trade linking the North and Baltic seas. Lübeck’s power peaked in the 15th century.

Foundation and early development

Before the term Hanse appeared in documents in 1267, cities formed guilds, or hansas, to trade with distant towns, especially in the less-developed eastern Baltic. This area provided timber, wax, amber, resins, and furs, plus rye and wheat from the land to port markets. Merchant guilds in home and foreign ports worked together as medieval corporations (universitates mercatorum), gradually uniting into the Hanseatic network. The main trade language was Middle Low German, influencing languages like the larger Scandinavian languages, Estonian, and Latvian.

Visby on Gotland was the Baltic’s leading center before the Hansa. Visby merchants set up a trading post at Novgorod called Gutagard (or Gotenhof) in 1080. In 1120, Gotland became independent from Sweden and allowed traders from southern and western regions. After a treaty with the Visby Hansa, northern German merchants regularly stopped at Gotland. In the early 13th century, they set up their own trading station or Kontor in Novgorod, known as the Peterhof, up the river Volkhov.

Lübeck became a base for merchants from Saxony and Westphalia trading east and north. It was more attractive than Schleswig due to shorter routes and better legal protections. Lübeck became a hub for trade between the North Sea and the Baltics. It also granted trade privileges to Russian and Scandinavian traders. Lübeck was a key supply port for the Northern Crusades, improving its standing with the Popes. Lübeck became a free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire in 1226, as Hamburg did in 1189. Wismar, Rostock, Stralsund, and Danzig also gained city charters.

Hansa societies worked to remove trade barriers for members. The earliest mention of a German trading group was between 1173 and 1175 in London. That year, Cologne Hansa merchants convinced King Henry II of England to waive tolls in London and protect merchants and goods.

German colonists in the 12th and 13th centuries settled in cities like Elbing (Elbląg), Thorn (Toruń), Reval (Tallinn), Riga, and Dorpat (Tartu), which joined the League. Most followed Lübeck law. Others, like Danzig from 1295, used Magdeburg law or Culm law.

Over the 13th century, experienced traders settled in their hometowns as leaders, gaining more influence over town policies. This, along with growing presence in the ministerial class, raised merchants’ status and helped them control more cities. Travel delays between Reval and Lübeck (4 weeks to 4 months in winter) supported this decentralized system.

In 1241, Lübeck allied with Hamburg, which controlled the salt-trade from Lüneburg. They dominated the salt-fish trade, especially the Scania Market. Cologne joined in the Diet of 1260. Towns raised armies, with guilds providing levies when needed. Hanseatic cities helped each other, and ships often carried soldiers and arms. The alliance grew to include 70 to 170 cities.

In the West, Rhineland cities like Cologne had trade rights in Flanders and England. In 1266, King Henry III of England granted the Lübeck and Hamburg Hansa a charter for England, creating competition with Westphalians. The Cologne and Wendish Hansas joined in 1282 to form the Hanseatic colony in London, though full merger happened in the 15th century. Novgorod was blockaded in 1268 and 1277/1278. Westphalian traders dominated London and Ipswich and Colchester, while Baltic and Wendish traders focused between King's Lynn and Newcastle upon Tyne. Cooperation grew due to weak territorial governments. Over 50 years, the Hansa solidified with agreements for west and east trade routes. Cities from modern Low Countries, plus Utrecht, Holland, Zealand, Brabant, Namur, and Limburg, joined in the 13th century. This network became known as the Kaufmannshanse.

Commercial expansion

Further information: Baltic Slavic piracy

The League set up more Kontors in Bruges (Flanders), Bryggen in Bergen (Norway), and London (England), along with the Peterhof in Novgorod. These trading posts became important enclaves by the early 14th century, except the Kontor of Bruges. The London Kontor, the Steelyard, stood west of London Bridge near Upper Thames Street, later the site of Cannon Street station. It became a walled community with warehouses, a weigh house, church, offices, and homes.

Besides major Kontors, smaller ports had Hanseatic trading outposts or factories with a representative merchant and warehouse, often not always staffed. In Scania, Denmark, about 30 seasonal factories produced salted herring, called vitten, with legal autonomy resembling a fifth kontor.

Hanseatic trade was not just sea-based; many towns lacked sea access and traded by river or land, forming an integrated network. Subregional trade was key for smaller Hanseatic towns. Seaports like Bremen, Hamburg, and Riga dominated river trade, unlike the open Rhine trade. Canals were rare, though the Stecknitz Canal linked Lübeck and Lauenburg from 1391 to 1398.

Major trade goods

The League mainly traded beeswax, furs, timber, resin (or tar), flax, honey, wheat, and rye from the east to Flanders and England, with cloth, especially broadcloth, and manufactured goods moving west. Metal ore (copper and iron) and herring came south from Sweden, with the Carpathians as another copper and iron source sold in Thorn. Lübeck played a key role in the salt trade, acquiring salt in Lüneburg or from France and Portugal to sell in Central Europe, salt herring in Scania, or to Russia. Stockfish was traded from Bergen for grain; Hanseatic grain allowed northern Norwegian settlements. The League also traded beer, with Hanseatic towns’ beer most valued, and Wendish cities like Lübeck, Hamburg, Wismar, and Rostock developed export breweries for hopped beer.

Economic power and defense

The Hanseatic League relied on power to protect itself and keep privileges. Bandits and pirates were constant threats, and during wars, they could join privateers. Traders could be arrested abroad, and goods seized. The League made treaties for mutual defense and privileges.

Many locals, both merchants and nobles, resented the League’s power and tried to reduce it. In London, local merchants pushed to revoke privileges. Most foreign cities limited Hanseatic traders to specific areas and trading posts. The Hansa’s refusal to offer reciprocal arrangements increased tensions.

League merchants used economic power to pressure cities and rulers. They imposed embargoes, redirected trade, and boycotted countries. Blockades were placed against Novgorod in 1268 and 1277/1278. Bruges was pressured by moving the Hanseatic emporium to Aardenburg (1280–1282), then to Dordt (1358, 1388) and Antwerp (1436). Boycotts against Norway in 1284 and Flanders in 1358 nearly caused famines. Sometimes they used military force. Several Hanseatic cities kept warships and sometimes used merchant ships. Military action often involved ad hoc coalitions called alliances (tohopesate).

To protect investments, League members trained pilots and built lighthouses, like the Kõpu Lighthouse. Lübeck built what may be northern Europe’s first proper lighthouse at Falsterbo in 1202. By 1600, at least 15 lighthouses stood along the German and Scandinavian coasts, making it the best-lit coast globally, largely due to the Hansa.

Zenith

Weak imperial power under the late Hohenstaufen dynasty forced the League to create a cooperating network of cities with a fluid structure, called the Städtehanse, though it never became formal, and the Kaufmannshanse kept existing. This development was delayed by Danish king Eric VI Menved conquering Wendish cities between 1306 and 1319 and limiting their autonomy.

Hanseatic assemblies met irregularly in Lübeck for a Hansetag (Hanseatic Diet), possibly starting around 1300 or 1356. Many towns did not attend or send representatives, and decisions weren’t binding if delegates were absent. Only a few Hanseatic cities were free imperial cities with autonomy, but many temporarily escaped local noble control.

Between 1361 and 1370, League members fought Denmark in the Danish-Hanseatic War. After an unsuccessful Wendish attack, towns from Prussia and the Netherlands, joined later by Wendish towns, formed the Confederation of Cologne in 1368. They sacked Copenhagen and Helsingborg, forcing Valdemar IV, King of Denmark, and his son-in-law Haakon VI, King of Norway, to grant tax exemptions and influence over Øresund fortresses for 15 years in the peace treaty of Stralsund in 1370. This extended privileges in Scania to the League, including Holland and Zeeland. The treaty marked Hanseatic peak influence, calling the League a “Northern European great power”. The Confederation lasted until 1385, and Øresund fortresses returned to Denmark that year.

After Valdemar’s heir Olav died, a dispute arose over Denmark and Norway between Albert of Mecklenburg, King of Sweden and Margaret I, Queen of Denmark. Swedish nobles rebelled against Albert and invited Margaret. Albert was captured in 1389 but hired privateers, the Victual Brothers, who took Bornholm and Visby. They and their descendants threatened trade from 1392 to the 1430s. Under the 1395 release agreement for Albert, Stockholm was ruled by 7 Hanseatic cities from 1395 to 1398 with full trading rights, then went to Margaret in 1398.

The Victual Brothers held Gotland in 1398. The Teutonic Order, with Prussian town support, conquered it and restored privileges.

Rise of rival powers

Over the 15th century, the League became more organized, partly to handle governance challenges and competition, but also due to trade changes. A shift occurred from loose participation to formal recognition/revocation.

In Novgorod, after conflicts since the 1380s, the League regained trade privileges in 1392, agreeing to Russian privileges for Livonia and Gotland.

In 1424, all German traders at the Peterhof kontor in Novgorod were imprisoned, and 36 died. Though rare, arrests and seizures in Novgorod were violent. In response, and due to Novgorod’s war with the Teutonic Order, the League blockaded Novgorod and closed the Peterhof from 1443 to 1448.

After extended conflicts with the League from the 1370s, English traders gained privileges in the Prussian region through Marienburg treaties (first in 1388, last in 1409). Their influence grew while Hanseatic trade in England declined over the 15th century.

Tensions rose between Prussia and the “Wendish” cities (Lübeck and neighbors) over the 15th century. Lübeck depended on its Hansa role, while Prussia focused on exporting bulk products like grain and timber to England, the Low Countries, Spain, and Italy.

Frederick II, Elector of Brandenburg, tried to control Hanseatic towns Berlin and Cölln in 1442, blocking them from Hanseatic diets. This ended their Hanseatic involvement for some. In 1488, John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg, did the same to Stendal and Salzwedel in the Altmark.

Until 1394, Holland and Zeeland were active Hansa members, but feudal obligations to Albert I, Duke of Bavaria ended cooperation in 1395. Their focus shifted, and from 1417 to 1432, they became part of the Burgundian State.

Lübeck faced financial trouble in 1403, leading craftsmen to form a supervising committee in 1405. This caused a government crisis in 1408 when the committee rebelled and set up a new council. Similar revolts happened in Wismar and Rostock, with new councils in 1410. A compromise ended the crisis in 1418.

Eric of Pomerania succeeded Margaret in 1412 and tried to expand into Schleswig and Holstein, levying tolls at the Øresund. Hanseatic cities were split; Lübeck tried to calm Eric while Hamburg backed the Schauenburg counts. This led to the Danish-Hanseatic War (1426–1435) and the Bombardment of Copenhagen (1428). The Treaty of Vordingborg renewed League privileges in 1435, but Øresund tolls continued.

Eric was deposed, and in 1438 Lübeck controlled Øresund tolls, causing tension with Holland and Zeeland. Sound tolls and Lübeck’s attempt to bar English and Dutch merchants from Scania hurt the herring trade as these regions developed their own industries.

In the Dutch–Hanseatic War (1438–1441), mostly by Wendish towns, Amsterdam merchants won free access to the Baltic. The grain trade blockade hurt Holland and Zeeland more than Hanseatic cities, against Prussian interests.

In 1454, when Elisabeth of Austria married King-Grand Duke Casimir IV Jagiellon of Poland-Lithuania, Prussian Confederation towns rebelled against the Teutonic Order and sought Casimir’s help. Danzig, Thorn, and Elbing joined the autonomous province of Royal Prussia in the Kingdom of Poland via the Second Peace of Thorn.

Poland was supported by the Holy Roman Empire through family ties and Habsburg military aid. Kraków, Poland’s capital, had loose Hansa ties. No customs on the Vistula after 1466 increased Polish grain exports down the river from 10,000 short tons annually in the late 15th century to over 200,000 by the 17th. Hanseatic-dominated grain trade made Poland key, helping Danzig become the Hansa’s largest city. Polish kings later reduced towns’ political freedoms.

From the mid-15th century, Pomerania’s Griffin dukes fought over Hanseatic towns. Bogislav X eventually took Stettin and Köslin, limiting the region’s economy and independence.

A Hanseatic strength was shipbuilding, mainly in Lübeck and Danzig, with ships sold across Europe.

The economic crises of the late 15th century affected the Hansa. Rivals emerged as territorial states. New vehicles of credit came from Italy.

When Flanders and Holland joined the Duchy of Burgundy, Burgund Dutch and Prussian cities excluded Lübeck from grain trade in the 15th–16th centuries. Demand for Prussian and Livonian grain grew, differing from Wendish interests, harming unity but showing where the Hansa system didn’t fit. Hollandish freight costs were lower, and the Hansa were excluded as middlemen. After naval wars, Amsterdam became the leading port for Polish and Baltic grain from the late 15th century.

Nuremberg in Franconia created an overland route selling Hansa products from Frankfurt via Nuremberg and Leipzig to Poland and Russia, trading Flemish cloth and French wine for grain and furs. The Hansa benefited by letting Nuremberger settle in Hanseatic towns, which Franconians used to take over Sweden trade. Merchant Albrecht Moldenhauer developed Sweden and Norway trade, with sons Wolf and Burghard leading Bergen and Stockholm activities.

King Edward IV of England reaffirmed League privileges in the Treaty of Utrecht despite hostility, partly due to the League’s financial support in the Wars of the Roses (1455–1487).

Tsar Ivan III of Russia closed the Hanseatic Kontor at Novgorod in 1494 and deported merchants to Moscow to reduce Hanseatic influence. Only 49 traders were there. Fur trade moved to Leipzig, and Hanseatic trade shifted to Riga, Reval, and Pskov. The Peterhof reopened in 1514, but Novgorod was no longer a trade hub. Bergen burghers tried independent trade with northern populations, against Hanseatic blockage. The League’s existence, privileges, and monopolies caused economic and social tensions leading to rivalries among members.

End of the Hansa

Transatlantic trade after America’s discovery reduced the League, especially in Bruges, shifting to other ports. It changed business to short-term contracts, making the Hanseatic model outdated.

Local lords asserting control over towns and foreign rulers suppressing Hanseatic traders continued. Kiel was expelled in 1518 for harboring pirates.

In the Swedish War of Liberation (1521–1523), the Hanseatic League opposed a conflict over trade, mining, and metal industry in Bergslagen with Jakob Fugger and his allies, including pope Leo X, Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, and Christian II of Denmark/Norway. Both sides invested in mercenaries. After the war, Gustav Vasa and Frederick I pursued independent policies, ignoring Lübeck’s anti-Dutch efforts.

However, Lübeck under Jürgen Wullenwever overreached in the Count's Feud in Scania and Denmark, losing influence after Christian III’s victory in 1536. Lübeck’s attempts to force competitors out of the Sound alienated Gustav Vasa. Its influence in the Nordic countries declined.

Hanseatic towns in Guelders faced obstruction from Charles II, Duke of Guelders in the 1530s due to Lutheranism. This frustrated but didn’t end trade, with a small revival later.

Denmark-Norway controlled the southern Baltic Sea later in the 16th century. Sweden regained trade control, the Kontor in Novgorod closed, and the Kontor in Bruges declined as the Zwin inlet closed. Growing German princes’ authority limited Hanse towns’ independence.

The League tried to address issues: it created the syndic role in 1556, electing Heinrich Sudermann to protect and extend member agreements. Revised agreements in 1557 and 1579 outlined town duties, with some progress. The Bruges Kontor moved to Antwerp in 1520, and the League explored new routes. Still, it couldn’t stop mercantile competition.

In 1567, a Hanseatic agreement reaffirmed member obligations and rights, like mutual protection. Prussian Quartier cities Thorn, Elbing, Königsberg, Riga, and Dorpat signed. Under pressure from Poland–Lithuania’s king, Danzig stayed neutral and wouldn’t allow Poland-bound ships, forcing them to anchor elsewhere, like Pautzke (Puck).

The Antwerp Kontor, moribund after the fall of the city, closed in 1593. In 1597, Queen Elizabeth I of England expelled the League from London, closing the Steelyard in 1598. It reopened in 1606 under James I, but couldn’t recover. The Bergen Kontor lasted until 1754; only its buildings, Bryggen, remain.

Not all states suppressed former Hanseatic links; the Dutch Republic encouraged eastern members to keep ties. The States-General used these cities in diplomacy during the Kalmar War.

The Thirty Years' War destroyed the Hanseatic League. Members suffered from imperials, Danes, and Swedes. Early on, Saxon and Wendish towns attacked to control the Elbe and Weser under Christian IV of Denmark. Pomerania’s population declined. Sweden took Bremen-Verden (except Bremen city), Swedish Pomerania (including Stralsund, Greifswald, Rostock), and Swedish Wismar, stopping their League participation and controlling Oder, Weser, Elbe, and levying tolls.

In 1666, the Steelyard burned in the Great Fire of London. The Kontor-manager asked Lübeck for funds to rebuild. Hamburg, Bremen, and Lübeck planned a Hanseatic Day in 1669, but few attended and participants were unwilling to fund reconstruction. This was the last formal meeting, though unknown to them at the time. This date is often seen as the end, though the League never formally disbanded. It quietly fell apart.

Aftermath

The Hanseatic League lived on in people’s minds. Leopold I asked Lübeck to call a Tagfahrt for support against the Turks.

Lübeck, Hamburg, and Bremen tried joint diplomacy, though interests diverged after the Peace of Ryswick. They still performed some diplomacy together, like a joint delegation to the United States in 1827 led by Vincent Rumpff. The U.S. had a consulate for the Hanseatic and Free Cities from 1857 to 1862. Britain kept diplomats to the Hanseatic Cities until German unification in 1871. The three cities shared a “Hanseatic” presence in Berlin until 1920.

Three kontors remained as Hanseatic property after the League’s end, as the Peterhof closed in the 16th century. Bryggen was sold to Norwegian owners in 1754. The Steelyard in London and the Oostershuis in Antwerp were hard to sell. The Steelyard sold in 1852, and Oostershuis, closed in 1593, sold in 1862.

Hamburg, Bremen, and Lübeck were the last members until the League’s formal end in 1862, just before the 1867 North German Confederation and 1871 German Empire under Kaiser Wilhelm I. They kept their Hanseatic links. Until German reunification, these cities were the only ones with “Hanseatic City” in their German names. Hamburg and Bremen still call themselves “free Hanseatic cities”, with Lübeck named “Hanseatic City”. Lübeck especially valued this link to its past. In 1937, the Nazi Party took away its imperial status via the Greater Hamburg Act. Since 1990, 24 more German cities have adopted the title.

Organization

The Hanseatic League was a group of merchants and towns that worked together to protect their trading. It was not one single group but a network of towns with shared goals, mainly in trade around the Baltic Sea. Over time, it grew from a few towns into a larger group, but it was never an official organization.

Members of the League mainly spoke Low German. To join, a family needed to have German parents, follow German law, and be trained in business. The League aimed to help members by improving trade and staying independent from local rulers.

Decisions in the League were made by agreement. When there was a problem, members would meet in a gathering called the Tagfahrt or Hanseatic Diet. Each town sent representatives to discuss and try to agree. The League could not make laws, but the cities worked together on trade rules and projects. They made some important sea rules in the 15th and 16th centuries.

A Hanseatic Kontor was a special trading post set up in the mid-1300s. These posts had their own money, court, laws, and seal, and worked like an early stock exchange. Kontors were created to keep trade safe, protect trading rights, and help with talks between places. They also checked goods to make trade fair and helped build relationships with local leaders. Most Kontors were separate from the city around them. Like guilds, Kontors were led by Ältermänner, or aldermen.

In 1347, the Kontor in Bruges changed its rules to make sure everyone was fairly represented. Members were grouped into three circles called Drittel.

In 1356, the League confirmed these rules. All trading posts, including Kontors, were placed under the Diet’s decisions, and their representatives could speak at Diet meetings.

The League later divided into three parts called Drittel. Members of each part often met to talk about ideas before the main Hanseatic Diet. Smaller local meetings also became more important over time.

From 1554, the League changed its divisions to four parts called Quartiere to make decisions easier. However, the Kontors sometimes grouped members differently for their own purposes.

Hanseatic ships

The Hanseatic League used many kinds of ships.

The most common ship was the cog. Cogs were useful ships with a curved bottom and one big square sail. They were used for trading and could travel on seas and rivers. Some cogs had small towers on them from the 1300s onward. The famous Bremen cog could carry about 125 tons of goods.

By around 1400, a new kind of ship called the hulk started replacing cogs. Hulks were larger and could carry up to 500 tons of goods.

In 1464, the city of Danzig got a big French ship named the Peter von Danzig. It was 40 meters long. Around that time, other Hanseatic cities also used ships with three masts, like the Jesus of Lübeck. One big warship called the Adler von Lübeck was built in 1566. It was 78 meters long with four masts. It was made for war but was never used in a battle. Later, it was used for trading.

Hanseatic cities

Hansa Proper

The table below lists cities that were part of the Hanseatic League. The cities are grouped by area, like Wendish, Saxon, Baltic, and Westphalian. It shows each city's name, the area it was in, the modern country it is in today, the years it was part of the League, and other details.

List of cities in Hansa Proper

Kontore

The kontore were big trading places set up by the League in other countries. These were not Hanseatic member cities, and are listed in the hidden table below.

List of Hansa kontore

Vitten

The vitten were important trading spots of the League in Scania. Some think they were similar to the kontors. They are not Hanseatic member cities and are listed in the hidden table below.

List of Hansa vitten

Ports with Hansa trading posts

List of ports with Hansa trading posts

• Åhus^: 159 
• Berwick-upon-Tweed
• Bishop's Lynn (King's Lynn)^{: 95  : 158} 
• Boston^{: 95  : 158} 
• Bordeaux^: 159 
• Bourgneuf^: 159 
• Bristol
• Copenhagen^: 159 
• Damme
• Frankfurt^: 160 
• Ghent^: 159 
• Hull (Kingston upon Hull)
• Ipswich^: 158 
• Kalundborg^: 159 
• Kaunas^: 159 
• Landskrona^: 159 
• La Rochelle^: 159 
• Leith
• Lisbon^: 159 
• Nantes^: 159 
• Narva
• Næstved^: 159 
• Newcastle^: 158 
• Norwich^: 158 
• Nuremberg^: 160 
• Oslo^: 159 
• Pskov^{: 159–160} 
• Polotsk^: 159 
• Rønne^: 159 
• Scarborough^: 158 
• Yarmouth (Great Yarmouth)^: 158 
• Sluis^: 159 
• Smolensk^: 159 
• Tønsberg^: 159 
• Venice^: 160 
• Vilnius^: 159 
• Vitebsk^: 159 
• York
• Ystad^: 159 

Other cities with a Hansa community

Other cities with a Hansa community

• Aberdeen
• Åbo (Turku)
• Avaldsnes
• Brae
• Grindavík
• Grundarfjörður
• Gunnister
• Hafnarfjörður
• Harlingen^{[citation needed]} 
• Haroldswick
• Hildesheim
• Hindeloopen (Hylpen)^: 397 
• Kalmar
• Krambatangi
• Kumbaravogur
• Leghorn^: 98 
• Lunna Wick
• Messina
• Naples
• Nordhausen
• Nyborg
• Nyköping
• Scalloway
• Stockholm^: 160 
• Tórshavn
• Trondheim
• Tver
• Walk (Valka)
• Weißenstein (Paide)
• Wesenberg (Rakvere)

Legacy

Academic study of the Hanseatic League began with Georg Sartorius in 1795. Later, German historians used the League's history to support ideas about a strong navy and a leading German state. After World War II, historians from Germany, Sweden, and Norway worked together to learn more about the League.

From the 19th century, the Hanseatic League was used to promote German national pride. Artists often painted Hanseatic ships larger and more impressive than they really were. Later, some people saw the League as a symbol of economic oppression, but by the late 1970s, it became more known for its role in European cooperation and trade.

In 1980, cities with historic ties to the Hanseatic League formed a new group called the Union of Cities THE HANSA. Today, this group has many members from countries like Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Poland, and Russia. The group helps with business, tourism, and cultural activities. Each year, one of the member cities hosts an international festival called the Hanseatic Days of New Time.

In 2018, some European Union countries formed a group called the New Hanseatic League to work together on economic issues.

The Hanseatic League’s name lives on in many places, such as the German airline Lufthansa, a football club called F.C. Hansa Rostock, a large theme park named Hansa-Park, and many other businesses and places across Europe.

Historical maps

These maps show Europe at different times, from the year 1097 up to 1470. They also include a special map called the Carta marina, which shows the Baltic Sea area in the year 1539. The maps help us see how places changed over many years.

In popular culture

The Hanseatic League appears in many games and stories. In the Patrician video games, you can play as a merchant in Hanseatic League cities. In the Saga of Seven Suns novels by Kevin J. Anderson, there is a group called the Terran Hanseatic League that governs many planets.

There is also a German board game called Hansa Teutonica and in the Metro franchise stories and games, a group of stations is called the Hanseatic League, often just called Hansa or Hanza.