View source for Hanseatic League

{{Short description|1200s–1669 trade confederation in Northern Europe}}
{{About|the 13th to 17th century trade association|the modern business association|Hanseatic Parliament|the intra-EU political group|New Hanseatic League}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox geopolitical organization
| conventional_long_name = Hanseatic League
| native_name            = {{native name|de|Hanse}}<br />{{native name|gml|Hansa}}
| image_map              = Ausbreitung der Hanse um das Jahr 1400-Droysens_28.jpg
| map_width              = 300px
| map_caption            = Northern Europe in the 1400s, showing the extent of the Hanseatic League
| membership_type        = Membership
| membership             = Various cities across the region of the [[Baltic Sea|Baltic]] and [[North Sea]]s
| admin_center_type      = Informal capital
| admin_center           = [[Free City of Lübeck|Lübeck]]
| languages_type         = [[Lingua franca]]
| languages              = [[Middle Low German]]<ref name="Cordes1983">{{cite book
 |author-last= Gabrielsson
 |author-first1= Artur
 |editor-last1= Cordes
 |editor-first1= Gerhard
 |editor-last2= Möhn
 |editor-first2= Dieter
 |title= Handbuch zur niederdeutschen Sprach – und Literaturwissenschaft
 |chapter= Die Verdrängung der mittelniederdeutschen durch die neuhochdeutsche Schriftsprache
 |url= {{google books|plainurl=yes|id=QGavEQHPCqgC}}
 |chapter-url= {{google books|plainurl=yes|id=QGavEQHPCqgC|page=119}}
 |language= de
 |trans-title= Handbook on Low German Linguistics and Literature Studies
 |trans-chapter= The displacement of the Middle Low German by the New High German written language
 |date= 1983
 |pages= 119–181
 |location= Berlin
 |publisher= Erich Schmidt Verlag
 |isbn= 978-3-503-01645-7
}}</ref><ref name="Blank2008">{{cite web
 |last= Blank
 |first= Angelika
 |title= Die Hanse - Bündnis mit Tradition
 |language= de
 |trans-title= The Hanseatic League - an alliance with tradition
 |date= 1 June 2008
 |url= https://wendland-net.de/post/hanse-buendnis-geschichte
 |publisher= wendland-net.de
 |access-date= 1 October 2021
 |archive-date= 18 June 2022
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220618120425/https://wendland-net.de/post/hanse-buendnis-geschichte
 |url-status= live
 }}</ref>
| image_flag             = Hanseatenwimpel.svg
| flag_caption           = [[Hanseatic flags|Hanseatic pennant]]
| flag_size              = 500px
| flag_border            = no
| today                  = <!--Per template documentation, parameter should not be used if there are more than four countries-->
| established            = 
| demonym                = 
| area_km2               = 
| area_rank              = 
| GDP_PPP                = 
| GDP_PPP_year           = 
| HDI                    = 
| HDI_year               = 
}}
The '''Hanseatic League''',{{efn|{{IPAc-en|ˌ|h|æ|n|s|i|ˈ|æ|t|ɪ|k}}. {{langx|gml|Hanse}}, {{lang|gml|Düdesche Hanse}}, {{lang|gml|Hansa}}; {{langx|de|label=[[German language|Modern German]]|Deutsche Hanse}}; {{langx|nl|label=[[Dutch language|Dutch]]|Hanze}}; {{langx|la|Hansa Teutonica}}.<ref>{{cite web
 |title= Synonym-Details zu 'Deutsche Hanse · Düdesche Hanse · Hansa Teutonica (lat.)
 |url= https://www.openthesaurus.de/synonyme/edit/23690
 |publisher= openthesaurus
 |access-date= 9 June 2018
 |archive-date= 26 March 2022
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220326230649/https://www.openthesaurus.de/synonyme/edit/23690
 |url-status= live
 }}</ref>}} commonly called '''The Hansa''', was a [[Middle Ages|medieval]] commercial and defensive network of [[merchant guilds]] and [[market town]]s in [[Central Europe|Central]] and [[Northern Europe]]. Growing from [[Lübeck]] and a few other [[Northern Germany|North German]] towns in the late 12th century, the League expanded between the 13th and 15th centuries and ultimately encompassed nearly 200 settlements across eight modern-day countries, ranging from what is now [[Estonia]] in the northeast to [[the Netherlands]] in the west, and extended inland as far south as [[Cologne]].

The League began as a collection of loosely associated groups of German traders and towns aiming to expand their commercial interests, including protection against robbery. Over time, these arrangements evolved into the League, offering traders toll privileges and protection on affiliated territory and trade routes. Economic interdependence and familial connections among merchant families led to deeper political integration and the reduction of trade barriers. This gradual process involved standardizing trade regulations among Hanseatic Cities.

During its time, the Hanseatic League [[Baltic maritime trade (c. 1400–1800)|dominated maritime trade]] in the [[North Sea|North]] and [[Baltic Sea]]s. It established a network of trading posts in numerous towns and cities, notably the [[Kontor]]s in [[London]] (known as the [[Steelyard]]), [[Bruges]], [[Bergen]], and [[Novgorod]], which became [[Extraterritoriality|extraterritorial]] entities that enjoyed considerable legal autonomy. Hanseatic merchants operated private companies and were known for their access to commodities, and enjoyed privileges and protections abroad. The League's economic power enabled it to impose [[blockade]]s and even wage war against kingdoms and principalities.

Even at its peak, the Hanseatic League remained a loosely aligned confederation of cities. It lacked a permanent administrative body, a treasury, and a standing military force. The [[Grand Master of the Teutonic Order|Grand Master]] of the [[Teutonic Order]] was often seen as the head of the Hanse (''caput Hansae''), both abroad and by some League members. The Teutonic Order was an official member of the Hanseatic League, unique as the only autonomous landed state to hold membership, while other members were cities or individual merchants. The Order and the Hanseatic League had a close economic and military interdependency, with many important Hanseatic trading ports falling within the Order's territories, and the Order itself played a role in protecting and organizing Baltic trade networks.

In the 14th century, the Hanseatic League instated an irregular negotiating ''[[Diet (assembly)|diet]]'' that operated based on [[deliberation]] and [[Consensus decision-making|consensus]]. By the mid-16th century, these weak connections left the Hanseatic League vulnerable, and it gradually unraveled as members merged into other realms or departed, ultimately disintegrating in 1669.

[[File:Ubena_von_Bremen_Kiel2007_1.jpg|thumb|Ubena von Bremen, a replica of the [[Bremen cog]]]]

The League used a variety of vessel types for shipping across the seas and navigating rivers. The most emblematic type was the [[cog (ship)|cog]]. Expressing diversity in construction, it was depicted on Hanseatic seals and coats of arms. By the end of the Middle Ages, the cog was replaced by types like the [[Hulk (medieval ship type)|hulk]], which later gave way to larger [[Carvel (boat building)|carvel]] ships.

== Etymology ==
{{lang|de|Hanse}} is the [[Old High German]] word for a band or troop.<ref>{{cite book
 |last= Seebold
 |first= Elmar
 |title= Chronologisches Wörterbuch des deutschen Wortschatzes, Vol. 2 Der Wortschatz des 9. Jahrhunderts
 |date= 2008
 |language= de
 |location=
 |publisher= Walter de Gruyter
 |page= 388
 |isbn= 978-3-11-020502-2
}}</ref> This word was applied to bands of merchants traveling between the Hanseatic cities.<ref>{{cite web
 |last= Delvaux de Fenffe
 |first= Gregor
 |date= 11 March 2018
 |title= Hanse
 |language= de
 |trans-title= Hanseatic League
 |url= https://www.planet-wissen.de/geschichte/mittelalter/hanse/index.html
 |publisher= Planet Wissen
 |access-date= 9 June 2018
 |archive-date= 20 September 2018
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180920114832/https://www.planet-wissen.de/geschichte/mittelalter/hanse/index.html
 |url-status= live
 }}</ref> {{lang|de|Hanse}} in [[Middle Low German]] came to mean a society of merchants or a trader guild.<ref>{{cite web
 |last= Köbler
 |first= Gerhard
 |date= 3 August 2014
 |title= Mittelniederdeutsches Wörterbuch: H.
 |language= de
 |url= https://www.koeblergerhard.de/mnd/mnd_h.html
 |access-date= 9 August 2020
 |location= Innsbruck
 |publisher= Gerhard Köbler
 |via= koeblergerhard.de
 |archive-date= 13 September 2019
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190913091058/http://www.koeblergerhard.de/mnd/mnd_h.html
 |url-status= live
 }}</ref> Claims that it originally meant ''An-See'', or "on the sea", are incorrect.<ref>{{cite book
 |last= Weststrate
 |first= Job
 |title= Handel en transport over land en rivieren 
 |date= 2010
 |trans-title= Trade and transport over land and rivers
 |url= {{google books|plainurl=yes|id=T5e68QReeykC|page=145}}
 |page=145
 |location= Hilversum & Groningen
 |publisher= Uitgeverij Verloren & Groninger Museum
 |isbn= 978-90-8704-165-6}}
 in {{harvnb|Brand|Egge|2010
}}</ref>{{rp|page=145}}

== History ==

[[File:Siegel Elbing 1350.jpg|thumb|Hanseatic Seal of Elbing (now [[Elbląg]])]]

Exploratory trading ventures, raids, and piracy occurred throughout the Baltic Sea. The sailors of [[Gotland]] sailed up rivers as far away as [[Novgorod]],<ref>{{cite journal
 |last= Martin
 |first= Janet 
 |date= 1975
 |title= Les Uškujniki de Novgorod: Marchands ou Pirates?
 |trans-title= The Uškujniki of Novgorod: Merchants or Pirates?
 |periodical= Cahiers du Monde Russe et Soviétique
 |volume= 16
 |language= fr
 |location= The Hague
 |publisher= Mouton & Co
 |pages= 5–18
}}</ref> which was a [[Foreign trade of medieval Novgorod|major Rus trade centre]]. Scandinavians led the Baltic trade before the League, establishing major trading hubs at [[Birka]], [[Hedeby|Haithabu]], and [[Schleswig, Schleswig-Holstein|Schleswig]] by the 9th century CE. The later Hanseatic ports between [[Mecklenburg]] and  [[Königsberg]] (present-day [[Kaliningrad]]) originally formed part of the Scandinavian-led Baltic trade system.<ref>{{cite thesis
 |last= Smith
 |first= Jillian R.
 |date= May 2010
 |title= Hanseatic Cogs and Baltic Trade: Interrelations Between Trade, Technology and Ecology
 |url= https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=anthrotheses
 |pages= 14–25
 |location= Lincoln, NE
 |publisher= University of Nebraska at Lincoln
 |access-date= 1 July 2019
 |archive-date= 9 May 2022
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220509141437/https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=anthrotheses
 |url-status= live
 }}</ref>

As the Hanseatic League was never formally founded, it lacks a date of foundation.<ref name="beerbuehl">{{cite journal
 |title=Networks of the Hanseatic League
 |last=Schulte Beerbühl
 |first=Margrit
 |year=2012
 |publisher=[[Institute of European History]]
 |location= Mainz|url=http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0159-2011121210
 |journal=European History Online
}}</ref>{{rp|page=2}} Historians have traditionally traced its origins to the rebuilding of the north German town of [[Lübeck]] in 1159 by the powerful [[Henry the Lion]], [[Duchy of Saxony|Duke of Saxony]] and [[Duchy of Bavaria|Bavaria]], after he had captured the area from [[Adolf II of Holstein|Adolf II]], [[Count of Schauenburg]] and [[County of Holstein|Holstein]]. More recent scholarship has deemphasized Lübeck, viewing it as one of several regional trading centers,<ref name="Ewert & Sunder">{{cite conference
 |last1= Ewert
 |first1= Ulf Christian
 |last2= Sunder
 |first2= Marco
 |date= 2 September 2011
 |title= Trading Networks, Monopoly and Economic Development in Medieval Northern Europe: an Agent-Based Simulation of Early Hanseatic Trade
 |conference= 9th European Historical Economics Society Conference, Dublin, Ireland
 |location= Oakville, Ontario, Canada
 |publisher= Medievalists.net
 |url= https://www.medievalists.net/2014/02/trading-networks-monopoly-economic-development-medieval-northern-europe-agent-based-simulation-early-hanseatic-trade/
 |access-date= 18 January 2023
 |archive-date= 30 January 2023
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230130142749/https://www.medievalists.net/2014/02/trading-networks-monopoly-economic-development-medieval-northern-europe-agent-based-simulation-early-hanseatic-trade/
 |url-status= live
 }}</ref> and presenting the League as the combination of a north German trading system oriented on the Baltic and a Rhinelandic trading system targeting England and [[Flanders]].<ref name = "Hibbert">{{Cite web
 |last= Hibbert
 |first= Arthur Boyd
 |title= Hanseatic League {{!}} Definition, History, & Facts
 |url= https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hanseatic-League
 |website= Encyclopedia Britannica
 |access-date= 18 June 2021
 |archive-date= 14 May 2021
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210514033825/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hanseatic-League
 |url-status= live
 }}</ref>

German cities speedily dominated [[Baltic maritime trade (c. 1400–1800)|trade in the Baltic]] during the 13th century, and Lübeck became a central node in the seaborne trade that linked the areas around the  [[North Sea|North]] and  [[Baltic Sea|Baltic seas]]. Lübeck hegemony peaked during the 15th century.<ref>{{Cite journal
 |last= Rotz
 |first= Rhiman A.
 |date= 1977
 |title= The Lubeck Uprising of 1408 and the Decline of the Hanseatic League
 |url= https://www.jstor.org/stable/986565
 |journal= Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society
 |volume= 121
 |issue= 1
 |pages= 1–45
 |jstor= 986565
 |issn= 0003-049X
 |archive-date= 17 December 2021
 |access-date= 17 December 2021
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211217123513/https://www.jstor.org/stable/986565
 |url-status= live
 }}</ref>

=== Foundation and early development ===

Well before the term ''Hanse'' appeared in a document in 1267,<ref>{{cite book
 |last= Sartorius Von Waltershausen
 |first= Georg-Friedrich-Christoph
 |author-link1= Georg Friedrich Sartorius
 |editor-last= Lappenberg
 |editor-first= J. M.
 |editor-link= Johann Martin Lappenberg
 |title= Urkundliche Geschichte des Ursprunges der deutschen Hanse
 |trans-title= History of the origin of the German Hanse in documents
 |url= {{google books|plainurl=yes|id=aUSNiCkcb9YC}}
 |volume= 2
 |language= de
 |location= Hamburg
 |publisher= Friedrich Perthes
 |date= 1830
 |page= 94
}}</ref> in different cities began to form [[guilds]], or ''hansas'', with the intention of trading with overseas towns, especially in the economically less-developed eastern Baltic. This area could supply timber, [[wax]], [[amber]], [[resin]]s, and furs, along with [[rye]] and wheat brought on barges from the hinterland to port markets. Merchant guilds formed in hometowns and destination ports as medieval corporations (''universitates mercatorum''),<ref name="Hammel-Kiesow2"/>{{rp|pages=42–43}} and despite competition increasingly cooperated to coalesce into the Hanseatic network of merchant guilds. The dominant language of trade was [[Middle Low German]], which had a significant impact on the languages spoken in the area, particularly the larger [[Scandinavian languages]],<ref name="NordicLanguagesBraunmüller">{{cite book
 |last= Braunmüller
 |first= Kurt
 |title= 135. Language contacts in the Late Middle Ages and in Early Modern Times
 |date= 2002
 |publisher= Walter de Gruyter
 |isbn= 978-3-11-017149-5
 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=6b7WwBC5tRAC&pg=PA1222
 |archive-date= 2 December 2024
 |access-date= 5 January 2025
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20241202200142/https://books.google.com/books?id=6b7WwBC5tRAC&pg=PA1222
 |url-status= live
 }}  {{harvnb|Bandle|Braunmüller|Jahr|Karker|2005}}</ref>{{rp|pages=1222–1233}}<ref name="NordicLanguagesLaurén">{{cite book
 |last= Laurén
 |first= Christer
 |title= 208. Special languages and their social and functional dimensions 1: Socially dependent varieties
 |date= 2002
 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=6b7WwBC5tRAC&pg=PA1933
 |page= 1933
 |publisher= Walter de Gruyter
 |isbn= 978-3-11-017149-5
 |archive-date= 17 November 2024
 |access-date= 5 January 2025
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20241117013605/https://books.google.com/books?id=6b7WwBC5tRAC&pg=PA1933
 |url-status= live
 }}  {{harvnb|Bandle|Braunmüller|Jahr|Karker|2005}}</ref>{{rp|pages=1933–1934}} [[Estonian language|Estonian]],<ref name="Soosaar2013">{{cite journal
 |last= Soosaar
 |first= Sven-Erik
 |title= The Origins of Stems of Standard Estonian – A Statistical Overview
 |journal= Trames. Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences
 |date= 2013
 |volume= 17
 |issue= 3
 |page= 273
 |publisher= TRAMES
 |url= https://www.kirj.ee/public/trames_pdf/2013/issue_3/Trames-2013-3-273-300.pdf
 |doi= 10.3176/tr.2013.3.04
 |access-date= 24 February 2023
 |archive-date= 9 December 2022
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20221209190917/https://www.kirj.ee/public/trames_pdf/2013/issue_3/Trames-2013-3-273-300.pdf
 |url-status= live
 }}</ref>{{rp|page=288}} and [[Latvian language|Latvian]].<ref name="Siliņa-Piņķe2019">{{cite journal
 |last= Siliņa-Piņķe
 |first= Renāte
 |title= Spuren des Mittelniederdeutschen in den lettischen Eigennamen
 |language= de
 |journal= Zeitschrift für Dialektologie und Linguistik
 |volume= 86
 |issue= 2
 |date= August 2019
 |pages= 229–243
 |publisher= Franz Steiner Verlag
 |url= https://biblioscout.net/article/10.25162/ZDL-2019-0009
 |doi= 10.25162/ZDL-2019-0009
 |doi-broken-date= 12 July 2025
 |s2cid= 239339448
 |access-date= 24 February 2023
 |archive-date= 24 February 2023
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230224175230/https://biblioscout.net/article/10.25162/ZDL-2019-0009
 |url-status= live
 |url-access= subscription
 }}</ref>{{rp|pages=230–231}}

[[Visby]], on the island of Gotland, functioned as the leading center in the Baltic before the Hansa. Sailing east, Visby merchants established a trading post at Novgorod called ''Gutagard'' (also known as ''Gotenhof'') in 1080.<ref>{{cite web
 |title= The Chronicle of the Hanseatic League
 |url= http://www.european-heritage.org/germany/m%C3%BCnster/hanseatic/cronicle-hanse
 |access-date= 10 December 2011
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120307230219/http://www.european-heritage.org/germany/m%C3%BCnster/hanseatic/cronicle-hanse 
 |archive-date= 7 March 2012
}}</ref> In 1120, Gotland gained autonomy from Sweden and admitted traders from its southern and western regions.<ref name="Hammel-Kiesow2"/>{{rp|page=26}} Thereafter, under a treaty with the Visby Hansa, northern German merchants made regular stops at Gotland.<ref>{{cite web
 |last= Pletneva
 |first= Olga
 |date= 20 December 2006
 |title= Ancient Rus: Trade and Crafts
 |location= Moscow
 |publisher= Garant-InfoCentre
 |url= http://www.russia-ic.com/business_law/trade_and_crafts/331/#.XJHN2yMd_IU
 |website= russia-ic.com
 |access-date= 20 March 2019
 |archive-date= 3 August 2019
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190803042829/http://russia-ic.com/business_law/trade_and_crafts/331#.XJHN2yMd_IU
 |url-status= live
 }}</ref> In the first half of the 13th century, they established their own trading station or ''[[Kontor]]'' in Novgorod, known as the [[Peterhof (Novgorod)|Peterhof]], up the [[Volkhov (river)|river Volkhov]].<ref>{{cite book
 |last= Wubs-Mrozewicz
 |first= Justyna 
 |date= 2008
 |title= Traders, ties and tensions: the interactions of Lübeckers, Overijsslers, and Hollanders in Late Medieval Bergen
 |page= 111
 |url= {{google books|plainurl=yes|id=VrCgvOuV5U0C}}
 |location= Hilversum
 |publisher= Uitgeverij Verloren
 |via= books.google.co.uk
 |isbn= 978-90-8704-041-3 
}}</ref>

[[File:Lübeck Holstentor 070311.jpg|thumb|The [[Holstentor]] of Lübeck, built in 1464, is the only historic gate of the city still standing today.]]

[[Lübeck]] soon became a base for merchants from [[Duchy of Saxony|Saxony]] and [[Duchy of Westphalia|Westphalia]] trading eastward and northward; for them, because of its shorter and easier access route and better legal protections, it was more attractive than [[Schleswig, Schleswig-Holstein|Schleswig]].<ref name="Hammel-Kiesow2">{{cite book
 |last= Hammel-Kiesow
 |first= Rolf
 |title= The Early Hansas
 |date= 27 January 2015
 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=sfhyBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA15
 |pages= 15–63
 |publisher= BRILL
 |isbn= 978-90-04-28476-0
 |archive-date= 2 December 2024
 |access-date= 5 January 2025
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20241202165153/https://books.google.com/books?id=sfhyBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA15
 |url-status= live
 }} in {{harvnb|Harreld|2015}}</ref>{{rp|page=27}} It became a transshipment port for trade between the North Sea and the Baltics. Lübeck also granted extensive trade privileges to Russian and Scandinavian traders.<ref name="Hammel-Kiesow2"/>{{rp|page=27–28}} It was the main supply port for the [[Northern Crusades]], improving its standing with various Popes. Lübeck gained [[Holy Roman Empire|imperial]] privileges to become a [[free imperial city]] in 1226, under [[Valdemar II of Denmark]] during the Danish dominion, as had [[Hamburg]] in 1189. Also in this period Wismar, Rostock, Stralsund, and Danzig received city charters.<ref name="Hammel-Kiesow2"/>{{rp|pages=50–52}}

Hansa societies worked to remove trade restrictions for their members. The earliest documentary mention (although without a name) of a specific German commercial federation dates between 1173 and 1175 (commonly misdated to 1157) in London. That year, the merchants of the Hansa in [[Imperial Free City of Cologne|Cologne]] convinced [[Henry II of England|King Henry II]] of England to exempt them from all tolls in London<ref>{{cite book
 |last= Lloyd
 |first= T. H.
 |date= 1991
 |title= England and the German Hanse, 1157–1611: A Study of Their Trade and Commercial Diplomacy
 |chapter= The winning of the Hanse franchises, 1157–1361
 |url= {{google books|plainurl=yes|id=PYYdGhgzGHYC}}
 |edition= Revised
 |location= Cambridge
 |publisher= Cambridge University Press
 |publication-date= 2002
 |page= 15
 |isbn= 978-0-521-52214-4
 |access-date= 2 February 2020
 |quote= [A] grant of about 1157 [...] conferred perpetual protection upon the ''homines et cives Colonienses''. As long as they paid established dues they were to be treated as the king's men and no fresh charges would be levied on them without their consent. By this time they had some form of corporate organization with a headquarters in London [...].
}}</ref> and to grant protection to merchants and goods throughout England.<ref>{{cite book
 |first= Joseph P.
 |last= Huffman
 |title= Family, Commerce, and Religion in London and Cologne: Anglo-German Emigrants, {{circa|1000|1300}}
 |date= 13 November 2003
 |publication-date= 2003
 |edition= revised
 |publisher= Cambridge University Press
 |isbn= 978-0-521-52193-2
 |url= {{google books|plainurl=yes|id=aFZ9IKWhqxEC}}
}}</ref>{{rp|pages=14–17}}

[[File:Fotothek df ps 0005300 Rathäuser ^ Kirchen ^ Basiliken.jpg|thumb|left|The Hanseatic League left a significant cultural and architectural heritage. It is especially renowned for its [[Brick Gothic]] monuments, such as [[Stralsund]]'s St. Nikolai Church and its City Hall, shown here. The old town of Stralsund, together with [[Wismar]], is a [[World Heritage Site|UNESCO World Heritage Site]].]]

[[Ostsiedlung|German colonists in the 12th and 13th centuries]] settled in numerous cities on and near the east Baltic coast, such as Elbing ([[Elbląg]]), Thorn ([[Toruń]]), Reval ([[Tallinn]]), [[Riga]], and Dorpat ([[Tartu]]), all of which joined the League, and some of which retain Hansa buildings and bear the style of their Hanseatic days. Most adopted [[Lübeck law]], after the league's most prominent town.<ref>{{Cite book
 |last= Korpiola
 |first= Mia
 |editor1-last= Pihlajamäki
 |editor1-first= Heikki
 |editor2-last= Dubber
 |editor2-first= Markus D.
 |editor3-last = Godfrey
 |editor3-first= Mark
 |title = The Oxford Handbook of European Legal History
 |chapter= 18. Customary Law and the Influence of the ''ius commune'' in High and Late Medieval East Central Europe: III 'Germanisation' of East Central European Law: Towns as conduits of Reception
 |date= 2018
 |url= {{google books|plainurl=yes|id=y2hiDwAAQBAJ}}
 |publisher = Oxford University Press
 |isbn=
}}</ref> The law provided that they appeal in all legal matters to Lübeck's city council. Others, like [[Danzig]] from 1295 onwards, had [[Magdeburg rights|Magdeburg law]] or its derivative, [[Kulm law|Culm law]].<ref>{{Cite book
 |last= Feldbrugge
 |first= Ferdinand J.M.
 |title= A History of Russian Law: From Ancient Times to the Council Code (Ulozhenie) of Tsar Aleksei Mikhailovich of 1649
 |date= 2017
 |publisher= Brill
 |isbn= 978-90-0435-214-8
 |page=230
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book
 |last= Sedlar
 |first= Jean W.
 |title= East Central Europe in the Middle Ages, 1000-1500
 |date= 1994
 |publisher= University of Washington Press
 |isbn= 978-0-295-97290-9
 |page= 328
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book
 |last= Frankot
 |first= Edda
 |title= Of Laws of Ships and Shipmen: Medieval Maritime Law and its Practice in Urban Northern Europe
 |date= 2012
 |publisher= Edinburgh University Press
 |isbn= 978-0-7486-6807-6
 |page= 108
}}</ref> 
Over the 13th century, older and wealthier long-distance traders increasingly chose to settle in their hometowns as trade leaders, transitioning from their previous roles as landowners. The growing number of settled merchants afforded long-distance traders greater influence over town policies. Coupled with an increased presence in the [[Ministerialis|ministerial class]], this elevated the status of merchants and enabled them to expand to and assert dominance over more cities.<ref name="Hammel-Kiesow2" />{{rp|pages=44, 47–50}}<ref name="Brand2010" />{{rp|page=27–28}} This decentralized arrangement was fostered by slow travel speeds: moving from Reval to Lübeck took between 4 weeks and, in winter, 4 months.<ref name="Jahnke2015">{{cite book
 |last= Jahnke
 |first= Carsten
 |title= The Baltic Trade
 |date= 27 January 2015
 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=sfhyBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA194
 |pages= 194–240
 |publisher= BRILL
 |isbn= 978-90-04-28476-0
 |archive-date= 15 November 2024
 |access-date= 5 January 2025
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20241115042703/https://books.google.com/books?id=sfhyBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA194
 |url-status= live
 }}</ref>{{rp|page=202}}[[File:Stadtrecht P.Schiffrecht.MHG.ajb.jpg|thumb|Foundation of the alliance between [[Lübeck]] and [[Hamburg]] in the part about ship law (''Van schiprechte'') in the Hamburg city right from 1497]]In 1241, Lübeck, which had access to the Baltic and North seas' fishing grounds, formed an alliance—a precursor to the League—with the trade city of Hamburg, which controlled access to the [[salt trade|salt-trade]] routes from [[Lüneburg]]. These cities gained control over most of the [[curing (food preservation)|salt-fish]] trade, especially the [[Scania Market]]; [[Imperial Free City of Cologne|Cologne]] joined them in the [[Diet (assembly)|Diet]] of 1260. The towns raised their armies, with each guild required to provide [[Conscription#Medieval levies|levies]] when needed. The Hanseatic cities aided one another, and commercial ships often served to carry soldiers and their arms. The network of alliances grew to include a flexible roster of 70 to 170 cities.<ref>{{cite book
 |last= Braudel
 |first= Fernand
 |author-link= Fernand Braudel
 |translator-last= Reynolds
 |translator-first= Siân
 |date= 17 January 2002
 |title= Civilization and Capitalism, 15th–18th century
 |volume= 3: ''The Perspective of the World''
 |edition= 
 |type= softcover
 |location= London
 |publisher= Phoenix Press
 |isbn= 978-1-84212-289-1
}}</ref>

In the West, cities of the [[Rhineland]] such as Cologne enjoyed trading privileges in Flanders and England.<ref name = "Hibbert"/> In 1266, [[Henry III of England|King Henry III]] of England granted the Lübeck and Hamburg Hansa a charter for operations in [[Kingdom of England|England]], initially causing competition with the Westphalians. But the Cologne Hansa and the Wendish Hansa joined in 1282 to form the Hanseatic colony in London, although they didn't completely merge until the 15th century. Novgorod was blockaded in 1268 and 1277/1278.<ref name="Hammel-Kiesow2"/>{{rp|pages=58–59}} Nonetheless, Westphalian traders continued to dominate trade in London and also [[Ipswich]] and [[Colchester]], while Baltic and Wendish traders concentrated between [[King's Lynn]] and [[Newcastle upon Tyne]].<ref name="Hammel-Kiesow2"/>{{rp|page=36}} Much of the drive for cooperation came from the fragmented nature of existing territorial governments, which did not provide security for trade. Over the next 50 years, the merchant Hansa solidified with formal agreements for co-operation covering the west and east [[trade route]]s.{{citation needed|date= December 2019}} Cities from the east modern-day Low Countries, but also Utrecht, Holland, Zealand, Brabant, Namur, and modern Limburg joined in participation over the thirteenth century.<ref name="Looper">{{cite book
 |last= Looper
 |first= Bert
 |title= De Nederlandse Hanzesteden: scharnieren in de Europese economie 1250–1550 
 |trans-title= The Dutch Hanseatic cities: Pivots in the European economy 1250–1550
 |url= {{google books|plainurl=yes|id=T5e68QReeykC|page=108}}
}} in {{harvnb|Brand|Egge|2010}}</ref>{{rp|page=111}} This network of Hanseatic trading guilds became called the ''Kaufmannshanse'' in historiography.

=== Commercial expansion ===
{{further|Baltic Slavic piracy}}

[[File:Haupthandelsroute Hanse.png|thumb|Main trading routes of the Hanseatic League]]

The League succeeded in establishing additional ''Kontors'' in [[Bruges]] ([[County of Flanders|Flanders]]), [[Bryggen]] in [[Bergen, Norway|Bergen]] (Norway), and London (England) beside the [[Peterhof (Novgorod)|Peterhof]] in Novgorod. These [[trading post]]s were institutionalised by the first half of the 14th century (for Bergen and Bruges)<ref name="Hammel-Kiesow2"/>{{rp|page=62}}<ref name="Sarnowsky"/>{{rp|page=65}} and, except for the [[Kontor of Bruges]], became significant [[enclave]]s. The London ''Kontor'', the [[Steelyard]], stood west of [[London Bridge]] near [[Upper Thames Street]], on the site later occupied by [[Cannon Street station]]. It grew into a walled community with its warehouses, [[weigh house]], church, offices, and homes.

In addition to the major ''Kontors'', individual ports with Hanseatic trading outposts or factories had a representative merchant and warehouse. Often they were not permanently manned. In [[Scania]], Denmark, around 30 Hanseatic seasonal factories produced salted herring, these were called ''vitten'' and were granted legal autonomy to the extent that Burkhardt argues that they resembled a fifth kontor and would be seen as such if not for their early decline.<ref name = "Burkhardt"/>{{rp|pages=157–158}} In England, factories in [[Boston, Lincolnshire|Boston]] (the outpost was also called Stalhof), [[Bristol]], Bishop's Lynn (later [[King's Lynn]], which featured the sole remaining Hanseatic warehouse in England), [[Kingston upon Hull|Hull]], [[Ipswich]], [[Newcastle upon Tyne]], [[Norwich]], [[Scarborough, North Yorkshire|Scarborough]], Yarmouth (now [[Great Yarmouth]]), and [[York]], many of which were important for the Baltic trade and became centers of the textile industry in the late 14th century. Hansards and textile manufacturers coordinated to make fabrics meet local demand and fashion in the traders' hometowns. Outposts in [[Lisbon]], [[Bordeaux]], [[Bourgneuf, Charente-Maritime|Bourgneuf]], [[La Rochelle]] and [[Nantes]] offered the cheaper Bay salt. Ships that plied this trade sailed in the [[Bay Fleet|salt fleet]]. Trading posts operated in Flanders, Denmark-Norway, the Baltic interior, Upper Germany, Iceland, and Venice.<ref name="Burkhardt"/>{{rp|pages=158–160}}

Hanseatic trade was not exclusively maritime, or even over water. Most Hanseatic towns did not have immediate access to the sea and many were linked to partners by river trade or even land trade. These formed an integrated network, while many smaller Hanseatic towns had their main trading activity in subregional trade. Internal Hanseatic trade was the Hanse's quantitatively largest and most important business.<ref name="Burkhardt"/>{{rp|pages=153, 161}} Trade over rivers and land was not tied to specific Hanseatic privileges, but seaports such as [[Bremen]], Hamburg and [[Riga]] dominated trade on their rivers. This was not possible for the [[Rhine]] where trade retained an open character. Digging canals for trade was uncommon, although the [[Stecknitz Canal]] was built between Lübeck and [[Lauenburg]] from 1391 to 1398.<ref>{{cite book
 |last= Weststrate
 |first= Job
 |title= Handel en transport over land en rivieren
 |trans-title=Trade and transport over land and rivers
 |url= {{google books|plainurl=yes|id=T5e68QReeykC|page=145}}
 |page=145
}} in {{harvnb|Brand|Egge|2010}}</ref>{{rp|pages=145–147, 158–159}}

====Major trade goods====

{| class= "wikitable floatright"
|+Imports and exports, 18 Mar 1368 – 10 Mar 1369<br />(in thousands of Port Lübeck marks)
|-
!Imports!! !!Origin, Destination!!Exports!! !!Total!!%
|-
|150|| ||'''London/Hamburg'''|| 38 || ||188 || 34.4
|-
|44|| ||'''Livonian towns''':|| 51 || || 95 || 17.4
|-
| || 10 || Riga || || 14 || ||
|-
| || 34 || Reval (Tallinn) || || 14.3 || ||
|-
| || -||Pernau|| || 22.7 || ||
|-
|49.4 || || '''Scania''' || 32.6 || || 82|| 15
|-
|52 || || '''Gotland, Sweden'''|| 29.4|| || 81.4|| 14.9
|-
|19 || || '''Prussian towns''':|| 29.5|| || 48.5|| 8.9
|-
| || 16|| Danzig|| || 22.8|| ||
|-
| || 3|| Elbing|| || 6.6|| ||
|-
|17.2|| ||'''Wendish & Pomeranian <br />towns''':|| 25.2|| ||42.4|| 7.8
|-
| ||5.5|| Stettin|| || 7|| ||
|-
| || 4|| Stralsund|| || 7.5|| ||
|-
| || 2.2|| Rostock|| || 4.6|| ||
|-
| || 5.5|| Wismar|| || 6.1|| ||
|-
|4.3 || || '''Bergen'''|| – || || 4.3|| 0.8
|-
|3 || || '''Small Baltic ports'''|| 1.2|| || 4.2|| 0.8
|-
|338.9|| || '''Total''' || 206.9 || || 545.8 || 100
|}

Starting with trade in coarse woolen fabrics, the Hanseatic League increased both commerce and industry in northern Germany. As trade increased, finer woolen and linen fabrics, and even silks, were manufactured in northern Germany. The same refinement of products out of the cottage industry occurred in other fields, e.g. etching, wood carving, armor production, engraving of metals, and  [[Woodturning|wood-turning]].

The league primarily traded beeswax, furs, timber, resin (or tar), flax, honey, wheat, and rye from the east to [[Flanders]] and England with cloth, in particular [[broadcloth]], (and, increasingly, [[final good|manufactured goods]]) going in the other direction. Metal ore (principally copper and iron) and herring came south from Sweden, while the Carpathians were another important source of copper and iron, often sold in [[Toruń|Thorn]]. Lubeck had a vital role in the salt trade; salt was acquired in Lüneburg or shipped from France and Portugal and sold on Central European markets, taken to Scania to salt herring, or exported to Russia. [[Stockfish]] was traded from Bergen in exchange for grain; Hanseatic grain inflows allowed more permanent settlements further north in Norway. The league also traded beer, with beer from Hanseatic towns the most valued, and Wendish cities like Lübeck, Hamburg, Wismar, and Rostock developed export breweries for hopped beer.<ref name="Jahnke2010">{{cite book
 |last= Jahnke
 |first= Carsten
 |title= 7. De Hanze en de Europese economie in the middeleeuwen [''The Hanseatic League and the European economy in the Middle Ages''] 
 |url= {{google books|plainurl=yes|id=T5e68QReeykC|page=45}}
 |page=45}}
 in {{harvnb|Brand|Egge|2010}}</ref>{{rp|pages=45–61}}<ref name="Heidbrink2012">{{cite book
 |last= Heidrink
 |first= Ingo
 |editor1-last= Talley
 |editor1-first= Wayne K.
 |title= The Blackwell Companion to Maritime Economics
 |date= 2012
 |edition= 1st
 |type= hardcover
 |chapter= The Business of Shipping: An Historical Perspective 
 |chapter-url= {{google books|plainurl=yes|id=I_Uu4_VRDXUC|page=35}}
 |language= en
 |location= 
 |publisher= Blackwell Publishing Ltd, John Wiley & Sons
 |isbn= 978-1-4443-3024-3
}}</ref>{{rp|pages=35–36}}<ref name="Montgomery2016">{{cite book
 |last= Montgomery
 |first= John
 |title= Upwave: City Dynamics and the Coming Capitalist Revival
 |date= 2016
 |edition= reprint
 |type= hardcover
 |url= {{google books | plainurl=yes | id=4MKXCwAAQBAJ | page=72}}
 |location= Abingdon-on-Thames, New York
 |publisher= Routledge
 |isbn= 978-1-317-00409-7
}}</ref>{{rp|page=72}}<ref name="hansentnhn">{{cite book
 |first= Lars Ivar
 |last= Hansen
 |chapter= The Trading Networks of the High North during the Sixteenth Century
 |editor1-first= Sigrun Høgetveit
 |editor1-last= Berg
 |editor2-first= Rognald Heiseldal
 |editor2-last= Bergesen
 |editor3-first= Roald Ernst
 |editor3-last= Kristiansen
 |title= The Protracted Reformation in the North
 |language= English
 |publisher= Walter de Gruyter
 |date= 2020
 |isbn= 9783110686210
 |chapter-url= {{google books | plainurl=yes | id=Fkn2DwAAQBAJ | page=144}}
}}</ref>{{rp|page=141}}<ref name="Jahnke2015"/>{{rp|pages=207–233}}

====Economic power and defense====
The Hanseatic League, at first the merchant hansas and eventually its cities, relied on power to secure protection and gain and preserve privileges. Bandits and pirates were persistent problems; during wars, these could be joined by [[privateers]]. Traders could be arrested abroad and their goods could be confiscated.<ref name="Hibbert"/> The league sought to codify protection; internal treaties established mutual defense and external treaties codified privileges.<ref name="Hammel-Kiesow2"/>{{rp|page=53}}

Many locals, merchant and noble alike, envied the League's power and tried to diminish it. For example, in London, local merchants exerted continuing pressure for the revocation of privileges.<ref name="Sarnowsky"/>{{rp|pages=96–98}} Most foreign cities confined Hanseatic traders to specific trading areas and their trading posts.<ref name="Burkhardt"/>{{rp|pages=128, 143}} The refusal of the Hansa to offer reciprocal arrangements to their counterparts exacerbated the tension.<ref name="North"/>{{rp|pages=105–111}}

League merchants used their economic power to pressure cities and rulers. They called embargoes, redirected trade away from towns, and boycotted entire countries. Blockades were erected against Novgorod in 1268 and 1277/1278.<ref name="Hammel-Kiesow2"/>{{rp|page=58}} Bruges was pressured by temporarily moving the Hanseatic emporium to Aardenburg from 1280 to 1282,<ref name="Hammel-Kiesow2"/>{{rp|page=58}}<ref name="Henn2010">{{cite book
 |last= Henn
 |first= Volker
 |title= Het ontstaan van de Hanze [''The coming into being of the Hanseatic League''] 
 |url= {{google books | plainurl=yes | id=T5e68QReeykC | page=19}}
 |page= 19
}} in {{harvnb|Brand|Egge|2010}}</ref>{{rp|pages=19–21}} from 1307 or 1308 to 1310 <ref name="Henn2010"/>{{rp|pages=20–21}} and in 1350,<ref name="Brand2010"/>{{rp|page=29}} to [[Dordrecht|Dordt]] in 1358 and 1388, and to [[Antwerp]] in 1436.<ref name="Sarnowsky"/>{{rp|page=68, 80, 92}} Boycotts against Norway in 1284<ref name="Brand2010"/>{{rp|page=28}} and Flanders in 1358 nearly caused famines.<ref name="Sarnowsky"/>{{rp|page=68}} They sometimes resorted to military action. Several Hanseatic cities maintained their warships and in times of need, repurposed merchant ships. Military action against political powers often involved an ''ad hoc'' coalition of stakeholders, called an alliance (''tohopesate'').<ref name="Brand2010"/>{{rp|pages=32, 39–40}}<ref name="Sarnowsky"/>{{rp|pages=93–95}}

[[File:Kõpu tuletorn Hiiumaal.jpg|thumb|Kõpu Lighthouse in Hiiumaa]]

As an essential part of protecting their investments, League members trained [[pilot (harbour)|pilots]] and erected lighthouses,<ref>{{Cite book
 |last= McKenna
 |first= Amy
 |title= Denmark, Finland, and Sweden
 |publisher= Britannica Educational Publishing
 |date= 2013
 |isbn= 9781615309955
 |page= 186
 |url= {{google books | plainurl=yes | id=af-cAAAAQBAJ | page=186}}
}}</ref> including [[Kõpu Lighthouse]].<ref>{{Cite book
 |last= Ebelt
 |first= Thomas
 |title= Lighthouses of Europe
 |publisher= Bloomsbury Publishing
 |date= 2018
 |isbn= 9781472958754
 |page= 35
 |url= {{google books | plainurl=yes | id=sZNyDwAAQBAJ | page=35}}
}}</ref><ref name = "Hibbert"/> Lübeck erected in 1202 what may be northern Europe's first proper lighthouse in [[Falsterbo]]. By 1600 at least 15 lighthouses had been erected along the German and Scandinavian coasts, making it the best-lighted coast in the world, largely thanks to the Hansa.<ref>{{Cite book
 |last= Stevenson
 |first= D. Alan
 |title= The World's Lighthouses: From Ancient Times to 1820
 |publisher= Courier Corporation
 |date= 2013
 |isbn= 9780486157085
 |url= {{google books | plainurl=yes | id=9fO7AQAAQBAJ | page=24}}
}}</ref>

=== Zenith ===

[[File:Stargard Szczec Brama Mlynska (1).jpg|thumb|[[Stargard Mill Gate]], [[Pomerania]], today in Poland]]

The weakening of imperial power and imperial protection under the late [[Hohenstaufen]] dynasty forced the League to institutionalize a cooperating network of cities with a fluid structure, called the ''Städtehanse'',<ref name="Brand2010"/>{{rp|page=27}} but it never became a formal organization and the ''Kaufmannshanse'' continued to exist.<ref name="Brand2010"/>{{rp|page=28–29}} This development was delayed by the conquest of Wendish cities by the Danish king [[Eric VI of Denmark|Eric VI Menved]] or by their feudal overlords between 1306 and 1319 and the restriction of their autonomy.<ref name="Hammel-Kiesow2"/>{{rp|pages=60–61}} Assemblies of the Hanse towns met irregularly in Lübeck for a ''{{ill|Hansetag|de}}'' (Hanseatic Diet) – starting either around 1300,<ref name="Hammel-Kiesow2"/>{{rp|page=59}} or possibly 1356.<ref name="Sarnowsky"/>{{rp|page=66}} Many towns chose not to attend nor to send representatives, and decisions were not binding on individual cities if their delegates were not included in the recesses; representatives would sometimes leave the Diet prematurely to give their towns an excuse not to ratify decisions.<ref name="Brand2010">{{cite book
 |last= Brand
 |first= Hanno
 |title= De bestuurlijke slagkracht van de 'Stedenhanze' 
 |trans-title= The organizational strength of the Hanseatic Cities
 |url= {{google books | plainurl=yes | id=T5e68QReeykC | page=36}}
 |page=36
}} in {{harvnb|Brand|Egge|2010}}</ref>{{rp|pages=36–39}}{{efn|name=kracht}} Only a few Hanseatic cities were [[free imperial city|free imperial cities]] or enjoyed comparable autonomy and liberties, but many temporarily escaped domination by local nobility.<ref>{{cite book
 |editor-last= Hansen
 |editor-first= Mogens Herman
 |others= Københavns universitet, Polis centret
 |title= A Comparative Study of Thirty City-State Cultures
 |chapter= Imperial and Free Towns of the Holy Roman Empire City States in Pre-Modern Germany?
 |page= 305
 |date= 2000
 |location= Copenhagen
 |publisher= Copenhagen Polis Centre & C.A. Reitzels Forlag
 |isbn= 978-8-7787-6177-4
}}</ref>

[[File:Tallinn Town Hall edit.jpg|thumb|left|[[Tallinn Town Hall|Town Hall of Reval]] (now [[Tallinn]], Estonia)]]
[[File:Military_situation_Denmark_1370.png|thumb|Military situation in Denmark (1370) after foreign invasions.]]
Between 1361 and 1370, League members fought against [[Denmark]] in the [[Danish-Hanseatic War (1361-1370)|Danish-Hanseatic War]]. Though initially unsuccessful with a Wendish offensive, towns from [[Prussia (region)|Prussia]] and the Netherlands, and eventually joined by Wendish towns, allied in the [[Confederation of Cologne]] in 1368, sacked [[Copenhagen]] and [[Helsingborg]], and forced [[Valdemar IV of Denmark|Valdemar IV, King of Denmark]], and his son-in-law [[Haakon VI of Norway|Haakon VI, King of Norway]], to grant tax exemptions and influence over [[Øresund]] fortresses for 15 years in the [[Treaty of Stralsund (1370)|peace treaty of Stralsund]] in 1370. It extended privileges in Scania to the League, including Holland and Zeeland. The treaty marked the height of Hanseatic influence; for this period the League was called a "Northern European [[great power]]". The Confederation lasted until 1385, while the Øresund fortresses were returned to Denmark that year.<ref name="Sarnowsky">{{cite book
 |last= Sarnowsky
 |first= Jürgen
 |title= The 'Golden Age' of the Hanseatic League
 |date= 27 January 2015
 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=sfhyBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA64
 |pages= 64–100
 |publisher= BRILL
 |isbn= 978-90-04-28476-0
 |archive-date= 21 November 2024
 |access-date= 5 January 2025
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20241121085119/https://books.google.com/books?id=sfhyBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA64
 |url-status= live
 }}</ref>{{rp|page=64, 70–73}}

After Valdemar's heir Olav died, a succession dispute erupted over Denmark and Norway between [[Albert, King of Sweden|Albert of Mecklenburg, King of Sweden]] and [[Margaret I of Denmark|Margaret I, Queen of Denmark]]. This was further complicated when Swedish nobles rebelled against Albert and invited Margaret. Albert was taken prisoner in 1389, but hired [[privateer]]s in 1392, the socalled [[Victual Brothers]], who took Bornholm and Visby in his name. They and their descendants threatened maritime trade between 1392 and the 1430s. Under the 1395 release agreement for Albert, [[Stockholm]] was ruled from 1395 to 1398 by a consortium of 7 Hanseatic cities, and enjoyed full Hanseatic trading privileges. It went to Margaret in 1398.<ref name="Sarnowsky"/>{{rp|pages=76–77}}

The Victual Brothers controlled Gotland in 1398. It was conquered by the Teutonic Order with support from the Prussian towns and its privileges were restored.<ref name="Sarnowsky"/>{{rp|pages=77–78}}

=== Rise of rival powers ===
{{further|Danish–Hanseatic rivalry}}
Over the 15th century, the League became further institutionalized. This was in part a response to challenges in governance and competition with rivals, but also reflected changes in trade. A slow shift occurred from loose participation to formal recognition/revocation.<ref name="Looper"/>{{rp|pages=113–115}} Another general trend was Hanseatic cities' increased legislation of their kontors abroad. Only the Bergen kontor grew more independent in this period.<ref name = "Burkhardt"/>{{rp|page=136}}

[[File:Novgorod1400.png|thumb|260px|The [[Novgorod Republic]] c. 1400. Novgorod created a vast territorial empire and controlled much of the [[fur trade]] with Europe. The city was one of the main [[Kontor|trading posts]] of the Hanseatic League.]]

In Novgorod, after extended conflict since the 1380s, the League regained its trade privileges in 1392, agreeing to Russian trade privileges for Livonia and Gotland.<ref name="Sarnowsky"/>{{rp|pages=78–83}}

In 1424, all German traders of the ''Peterhof'' kontor in Novgorod were imprisoned and 36 of them died. Although rare, arrests and seizures in Novgorod were particularly violent.<ref name="Dollinger">{{cite book
 |last= Dollinger
 |first= P.
 |date= 2000
 |title= The German Hansa
 |pages= 341–343
 |location= 
 |publisher= Routledge
 |url= {{google books | plainurl=yes | id=jbompf7OyYwC | page=342}}
 |accessdate= 30 April 2011
 |isbn= 978-0-415-19073-2
}}</ref>{{rp|page=182}} In response, and due to the ongoing war between Novgorod and the Teutonic Order, the League blockaded Novgorod and abandoned the ''Peterhof'' from 1443 to 1448.<ref name="JanetMartin">{{cite book
 |last= Martin
 |first= Janet
 |date= 2004
 |title= Treasure of the Land of Darkness: The Fur Trade and Its Significance for Medieval Russia
 |publisher= Cambridge University Press
 |isbn= 978-0-521-54811-3
 |url= {{google books | plainurl=y | id=z0tet2-BeXcC}}
}}</ref>{{rp|page=82}}

After [[Steelyard#Trade conflicts|extended conflicts]] with the League from the 1370s, English traders gained trade privileges in [[Prussia (region)|the Prussian region]] via the treaties of Marienburg (the first in 1388, the last in 1409).<ref name="Sarnowsky"/>{{rp|pages=78–83}} Their influence increased, while the importance of Hanseatic trade in England decreased over the 15th century.<ref name="Sarnowsky"/>{{rp|page=98}}

Over the 15th century, tensions between the Prussian region and the "Wendish" cities (Lübeck and its eastern neighbours) increased. Lübeck was dependent on its role as center of the Hansa; Prussia's main interest, on the other hand, was the export of bulk products such as grain and timber to England, the [[Low Countries]] and later on Spain and Italy.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}

[[Frederick II, Elector of Brandenburg]], tried to assert authority over the Hanseatic towns [[Berlin]] and [[Cölln]] in 1442 and blocked all Brandenburg towns from participating in Hanseatic diets. For some Brandenburg towns, this ended their Hanseatic involvement. In 1488, [[John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg]] did the same to [[Stendal]] and [[Salzwedel]] in the [[Altmark]].<ref name="Carsten">{{cite book
 |last= Carsten
 |first= F. L.
 |date= 1985
 |title= Essays in German History
 |chapter= The Origins of the Junkers
 |chapter-url= {{google books |plainurl=y |id=uoaxAwAAQBAJ |page=34}}
 |language= en
 |publisher= A&C Black
 |isbn= 978-1-4411-3272-7
}}</ref>{{rp|pages=34–35}}

Until 1394, [[Holland]] and [[Zeeland]] actively participated in the Hansa, but in 1395, their feudal obligations to [[Albert I, Duke of Bavaria]] prevented further cooperation. Consequently, their Hanseatic ties weakened, and their economic focus shifted. Between 1417 and 1432, this economic reorientation became even more pronounced as Holland and Zeeland gradually became part of the [[Burgundian Netherlands|Burgundian State]].

The city of Lübeck faced financial troubles in 1403, leading dissenting craftsmen to establish a supervising committee in 1405. This triggered a governmental crisis in 1408 when the committee rebelled and established a new town council. Similar revolts broke out in Wismar and Rostock, with new town councils established in 1410. The crisis was ended in 1418 by a compromise.<ref name="Sarnowsky"/>{{rp|pages=83–88}}{{undue weight inline|date=February 2024}}

[[Eric of Pomerania]] succeeded Margaret in 1412 and sought to expand into [[Duchy of Schleswig|Schleswig]] and [[Holstein]] levying tolls at the Øresund. Hanseatic cities were divided initially; Lübeck tried to appease Eric while Hamburg supported the Schauenburg counts against him. This led to the [[Danish-Hanseatic War (1426–1435)|Danish-Hanseatic War]] (1426–1435) and the [[Bombardment of Copenhagen (1428)|Bombardment of Copenhagen]] (1428). The Treaty of Vordingborg renewed the League's commercial privileges in 1435, but the Øresund tolls continued.

Eric of Pomerania was subsequently deposed and in 1438 Lübeck took control of the Øresund toll, which caused tensions with [[Holland]] and [[Zeeland]].<ref name="Sarnowsky"/>{{rp|pages=89–91}}<ref name="Pulsiano & Wolf">{{cite book
 |last1= Pulsiano
 |first1= Phillip
 |last2= Wolf
 |first2= Kirsten
 |title= Medieval Scandinavia: An Encyclopedia
 |date= 2019
 |edition= 1st reprinted
 |type= softcover
 |orig-date= 1993
 |location= London
 |publisher= Taylor & Francis
 |isbn= 978-1-138-06302-0
}}</ref>{{rp|page=265}}<ref name="Stearns & Langer">{{cite book
 |last1= Stearns
 |first1= Peter N
 |last2= Langer
 |first2= William Leonard 
 |title= The Encyclopedia of World History: Ancient, Medieval, and Modern, Chronologically Arranged
 |date= 2001
 |location= Boston
 |publisher= Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
 |isbn= 978-0-395-65237-4
 |url= https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaworl00stea
 |url-access= limited
 |via= archive.org
}}</ref><ref name="MacKay & Ditchburn">{{cite book
 |last1= MacKay
 |first1= Angus
 |last2= Ditchburn
 |first2= David
 |title= Atlas of Medieval Europe
 |chapter= Late Medieval Scandinavia: Unity and Disunity
 |date= 1997
 |location= London & New York
 |publisher= Routledge
 |isbn= 978-0-415-12231-3
 |url= https://archive.org/details/atlasofmedievale0000unse/page/n7/mode/2up
 |url-access= limited
 |via= archive.org
}}</ref>{{rp|page=171}} The Sound tolls,{{efn|''The Sound'' here is the [[Øresund]], the strait between the Danish island of Zealand (Sjælland) and Sweden.}} and a later attempt of Lübeck to exclude the English and Dutch merchants from Scania harmed the Scanian herring trade when the excluded regions began to develop their own herring industries.<ref name="Burkhardt"/>{{rp|pages=157–158}}

[[File:Holy Roman Empire at the Golden Bull of 1356.png|thumb|The [[Holy Roman Empire]] was a limited elective monarchy composed of hundreds of [[List of states in the Holy Roman Empire|state-like entities]].]]

In the [[Dutch–Hanseatic War]] (1438–1441), a privateer war mostly waged by Wendish towns, the merchants of [[Amsterdam]] sought and eventually won free access to the Baltic. Although the blockade of the grain trade hurt Holland and Zeeland more than Hanseatic cities, it was against Prussian interest to maintain it.<ref name="Sarnowsky"/>{{rp|page=91}}

[[File:Hans Holbein der Jüngere - Der Kaufmann Georg Gisze - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|left|[[Georg Giese]] from Danzig, 34-year-old German Hanseatic merchant at the [[Steelyard]], painted in London by [[Hans Holbein the Younger|Hans Holbein]]]]

In 1454, the year of the marriage of [[Elisabeth of Austria (1436–1505)|Elisabeth of Austria]] to King-Grand Duke [[Casimir IV Jagiellon]] of [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|Poland-Lithuania]], the towns of the [[Prussian Confederation]] rose up against the dominance of the [[Teutonic Order]] and asked Casimir IV for help. Danzig, Thorn and Elbing became part of the autonomous province of [[Royal Prussia]] in the [[Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)|Kingdom of Poland]] by the [[Second Peace of Thorn (1466)|Second Peace of Thorn]].

Poland in turn was heavily supported by the [[Holy Roman Empire]] through family connections and by military assistance under the [[Habsburg]]s. [[Kraków]], then the Polish capital, had a loose association with the Hansa.<ref name="Blumówna">{{cite book
 |last1= Blumówna
 |first1= Helena
 |last2= Kobyłka
 |first2= Tadeus
 |display-authors= 1
 |editor-last= Dąbrowski
 |editor-first= Jan
 |title= Kraków jego dzieje i sztuka: Praca zbiorowa
 |trans-title= Krakow's history and art: Collective work
 |language= pl
 |date= 1965
 |edition= 1st
 |type= hardcover
 |location= Warsaw
 |publisher= Arkady
 |url= https://catalog.lib.uchicago.edu/vufind/Record/1907431/Details
 |via= catalog.lib.uchicago.edu
 |archive-date= 15 January 2023
 |access-date= 15 January 2023
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230115170351/https://catalog.lib.uchicago.edu/vufind/Record/1907431/Details
 |url-status= live
 }}</ref>{{rp|page=93}} The lack of customs borders on the River [[Vistula]] after 1466 helped to gradually increase Polish grain exports, transported down the [[Vistula]], from {{convert|10000|ST}} per year, in the late 15th century, to over {{convert|200000|ST}} in the 17th century.<ref>{{cite book
 |last= Davies
 |first= Norman
 |title= God's playground. A history of Poland, Volume 1: The Origins to 1795
 |date= 1982
 |publisher= [[Oxford University Press]]
 |isbn=978-0-19-925339-5
}}</ref> The Hansa-dominated maritime [[grain trade]] made Poland one of the main areas of its activity, helping Danzig to become the Hansa's largest city. Polish kings soon began to reduce the towns' political freedoms.<ref name="Carsten"/>{{rp|page=36}}

Beginning in the mid-15th century, the [[House of Griffin|Griffin]] dukes of [[Duchy of Pomerania|Pomerania]] were in constant conflict over control of the Pomeranian Hanseatic towns. While not successful at first, [[Bogislaw X, Duke of Pomerania|Bogislav X]] eventually subjugated [[Stettin]] and [[Köslin]], curtailing the region's economy and independence.<ref name="Carsten"/>{{rp|page=35}}

[[File:Gdańsk Rybackie Pobrzeże.jpg|thumb|View of the {{interlanguage link|Harbour Crane|de|Krantor (Danzig)|pl|Brama Żuraw w Gdańsku}} in the port city of [[Gdańsk]] (Danzig), today in Poland]]

[[File:Hanseatic museum Bergen.jpg|thumb|Hanseatic museum in [[Bergen]], Norway]]

A major Hansa economic advantage was its control of the shipbuilding market, mainly in Lübeck and Danzig. The League sold ships throughout Europe.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

The [[Great Bullion Famine|economic crises of the late 15th century]] did not spare the Hansa. Nevertheless, its eventual rivals emerged in the form of [[nation state|territorial states]]. New [[medium of exchange|vehicles of credit]] were imported from Italy.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

When Flanders and Holland became part of the [[Burgundian Netherlands|Duchy of Burgundy]], Burgund Dutch and Prussian cities increasingly excluded Lübeck from their grain trade in the 15th and 16th century. Burgund Dutch demand for Prussian and Livonian grain grew in the late 15th century. These trade interests differed from Wendish interests, threatening political unity, but also showed a trade where the Hanseatic system was impractical.<ref name="Jahnke2015"/>{{rp|pages=198, 215–216}} Hollandish freight costs were much lower than the Hansa's, and the Hansa were excluded as middlemen.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}} After naval wars between Burgundy and the Hanseatic fleets, Amsterdam gained the position of leading port for Polish and Baltic grain from the late 15th century onwards.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

[[Nuremberg]] in [[Franconia]] developed an overland route to sell formerly Hansa-monopolised products from [[Frankfurt]] via Nuremberg and [[Leipzig]] to Poland and Russia, trading Flemish cloth and [[French wine]] in exchange for grain and furs from the east. The Hansa profited from the Nuremberg trade by allowing Nurembergers to settle in Hanseatic towns, which the Franconians exploited by taking over trade with Sweden as well. The Nuremberger merchant Albrecht Moldenhauer was influential in developing the trade with Sweden and Norway, and his sons Wolf and Burghard Moldenhauer established themselves in Bergen and Stockholm, becoming leaders of the local Hanseatic activities.{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}

King [[Edward IV of England]] reconfirmed the league's privileges in the [[Treaty of Utrecht (1474)|Treaty of Utrecht]] despite the latent hostility, in part thanks to the significant financial contribution the League made to the [[Yorkist]] side during [[the Wars of the Roses]] of 1455–1487.<ref name="Dollinger2000 tensions">{{cite book
 |last= Dollinger
 |first= Philippe
 |title= The German Hansa
 |date= 2000
 |location= London & New York
 |publisher= Routledge
 |isbn= 978-0-415-19073-2
 |url= {{google books |plainurl=y |id=jbompf7OyYwC |page=341}}
 |access-date= 30 April 2011
 |via= books.google.com
}}</ref>{{rp|pages=308–309}} Tsar [[Ivan III of Russia]] closed the Hanseatic ''Kontor'' at Novgorod in 1494 and deported its merchants to Moscow, in an attempt to reduce Hanseatic influence on Russian trade.<ref name="Meier">{{cite book
 |last= Meier
 |first= Dirk
 |translator-last= McGeoch
 |translator-first= Angus
 |title= Seafarers, Merchants and Pirates in the Middle ages
 |date= 2009
 |edition= Illustrated
 |type= softcover
 |location= Martlesham, Suffolk
 |publisher= Boydell & Brewer
 |isbn= 978-1-84383-5-127 
}}</ref>{{rp|page=145}} At the time, only 49 traders were at the Peterhof.<ref name="Wubs-Mrozewicz2010"/>{{rp|page=99}} The fur trade was redirected to Leipzig, taking out the Hansards;<ref name="Jahnke2010"/>{{rp|page=54}} while the Hanseatic trade with Russia moved to Riga, Reval, and Pskov.<ref name="Wubs-Mrozewicz2010"/>{{rp|page=100}} When the Peterhof reopened in 1514, Novgorod was no longer a trade hub.<ref name="Dollinger2000 tensions"/>{{rp|pages=182, 312}} In the same period, the burghers of Bergen tried to develop an independent intermediate trade with the northern population, against the Hansards' obstruction.<ref name="hansentnhn"/>{{rp|page=144}} The League's mere existence and its privileges and monopolies created economic and social tensions that often spilled onto rivalries between League members.

=== End of the Hansa ===
[[File:Heinrich Sudermann.jpg|thumb|left|[[Heinrich Sudermann]]]]
The development of transatlantic trade after the discovery of the Americas caused the remaining contours to decline, especially in Bruges, because it centered on other ports. It also changed business practice to short-term contracts and obsoleted the Hanseatic model of privileged guaranteed trade.<ref name = "Burkhardt"/>{{rp|pages=154}}

The trends of local feudal lords asserting control over towns and suppressing their autonomy, and of foreign rulers repressing Hanseatic traders continued in the next century. The city of [[Kiel]] was expelled from the League in 1518 for harbouring pirates.

In the [[Swedish War of Liberation]] 1521–1523, the Hanseatic League was successful in opposition to an economic conflict it had over the trade, mining, and metal industry in [[Bergslagen]]<ref>{{cite book
 |last= Skantze
 |first= Margareta
 |title= Där brast ett ädelt hjärta: Kung Kristian II och hans värld
 |trans-title= There a noble heart broke. King Christian II and his world
 |language= sv
 |date= 2019
 |location= Lyckeby
 |publisher= Arakne Förlag AB
 |isbn= 978-91-9786-813-6
}}</ref> (the main mining area of Sweden in the 16th century) with [[Jakob Fugger]] (industrialist in the mining and metal industry) and his unfriendly business take-over attempt. Fugger allied with his financially dependent pope [[Leo X]], [[Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor]], and [[Christian II]] of Denmark/Norway. Both sides made costly investments in support of [[mercenaries]] to win the war. After the war, [[Gustav Vasa]]'s Sweden and [[Frederick I of Denmark|Frederick I]]'s [[Denmark]] pursued independent policies and didn't support Lübeck's effort against Dutch trade.<ref name="North"/>{{rp|page=113}}

However, Lübeck under [[Jürgen Wullenwever]] overextended in the [[Count's Feud]] in [[Scania]] and [[Denmark]] and lost influence in 1536 after [[Christian III]]'s victory.<ref name="hansentnhn"/>{{rp|page=144}} Lübeck's attempts at forcing competitors out of the Sound eventually alienated even [[Gustav Vasa]].<ref name="North"/>{{rp|page=113–114}} Its influence in the [[Nordic countries]] began to decline.

The Hanseatic towns of [[Guelders]] were obstructed in the 1530s by [[Charles II, Duke of Guelders]]. Charles, a strict Catholic, objected to [[Lutheranism]], in his words "Lutheran heresy", of Lübeck and other north German cities. This frustrated but did not end the towns' Hanseatic trade and a small resurgence came later.<ref>{{cite book
 |last= Benders
 |first= Jeroen
 |title= De stad Groningen en de Hanze tot het eind van de zestiende eeuw
 |trans-title= The city Groningen and the Hanseatic League till the end of the sixteenth century
 |url= {{google books |plainurl=y |id=T5e68QReeykC |page=184}}
 |page= 184
}} in {{harvnb|Brand|Egge|2010}}</ref>

Later in the 16th century, Denmark-Norway took control of the southern Baltic Sea. Sweden had regained control over its own trade, the ''Kontor'' in Novgorod had closed, and the [[Kontor of Bruges|''Kontor'' in Bruges]] had become effectively moribund because the [[Zwin]] inlet was closing up.<ref name="Burkhardt"/>{{rp|page=132}} Finally, the growing political authority of the German princes constrained the independence of Hanse towns.

The league attempted to deal with some of these issues: it created the post of [[syndic]] in 1556 and elected [[Heinrich Sudermann]] to the position, who worked to protect and extend the diplomatic agreements of the member towns. In 1557 and 1579, revised agreements spelled out the duties of towns and some progress was made. The [[Kontor of Bruges|Bruges ''Kontor'']] moved to [[Antwerp]] in 1520<ref name="Burkhardt"/>{{rp|page=140–154}} and the Hansa attempted to pioneer new routes. However, the league proved unable to prevent the growing mercantile competition.

In 1567, a Hanseatic League agreement reconfirmed previous obligations and rights of league members, such as common protection and defense against enemies.<ref>{{cite web
 |title= Agreement of the Hanseatic League at Lübeck, 1557
 |publisher= Baltic Connections
 |url= http://www.balticconnections.net/views/exhibition/detail.cfm?mode=language&ID=18CEDA3F-D929-4A8E-E777F313AC7EB8E4
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090104184125/http://www.balticconnections.net/views/exhibition/detail.cfm?mode=language&ID=18CEDA3F-D929-4A8E-E777F313AC7EB8E4
 |archive-date= 4 January 2009
 |access-date= 5 May 2009
}}</ref> The Prussian Quartier cities of Thorn, Elbing, [[Königsberg]] and Riga and Dorpat also signed. When pressed by the King of [[Polish–Lithuanian union|Poland–Lithuania]], Danzig remained neutral and would not allow ships running for Poland into its territory. They had to anchor somewhere else, such as at [[Puck, Poland|Pautzke]] (Puck).

The Antwerp ''Kontor'', moribund after the [[Fall of Antwerp|fall of the city]], closed in 1593. In 1597 Queen [[Elizabeth I of England]] expelled the League from London, and the Steelyard closed and sequestered in 1598. The Kontor returned in 1606 under her successor, [[James VI and I|James I]], but it could not recover.<ref name="Dollinger2000 tensions"/>{{rp|pages=341–343}} The Bergen ''Kontor'' continued until 1754; of all the ''Kontore'', only its buildings, the ''[[Bryggen]]'', survive.

Not all states tried to suppress their cities' former Hanseatic links; the Dutch Republic encouraged its eastern former members to maintain ties with the remaining Hanseatic League. The States-General relied on those cities in diplomacy at the time of the [[Kalmar War]].<ref name="Looper"/>{{rp|page=123}}

The [[Thirty Years' War]] was destructive for the Hanseatic League and members suffered heavily from both the imperials, the Danes and the Swedes. In the beginning, Saxon and Wendish faced attacks because of the desire of [[Christian IV of Denmark]] to control the Elbe and Weser. Pomerania had a major population decline. Sweden took [[Bremen-Verden]] (excluding the city of Bremen), [[Swedish Pomerania]] (including Stralsund, Greifswald, Rostock) and [[Swedish Wismar]], preventing their cities from participating in the League, and controlled the Oder, Weser, and Elbe, and could levy tolls on their traffic.<ref name="North">{{cite book
 |last= North
 |first= Michael
 |title= The Hanseatic League in the Early Modern Period
 |pages= 101–124
 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=sfhyBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA114
 |archive-date= 13 November 2024
 |access-date= 5 January 2025
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20241113060830/https://books.google.com/books?pg=PA114&id=sfhyBgAAQBAJ
 |url-status= live
 }} in {{harvnb|Harreld|2015}}</ref>{{rp|pages=114–116}} The league became increasingly irrelevant despite its inclusion in the [[Peace of Westphalia]].<ref name="Brand2010"/>{{rp|page=43}}

In 1666, the [[Steelyard]] burned in the [[Great Fire of London]]. The Kontor-manager sent a letter to Lübeck appealing for immediate financial assistance for a reconstruction. Hamburg, Bremen, and Lübeck called for a Hanseatic Day in 1669. Only a few cities participated and those who came were reluctant to contribute financially to the reconstruction. It was the last formal meeting, unbeknownst to any of the parties. This date is often taken in retrospect as the effective end date of the Hansa, but the League never formally disbanded. It silently disintegrated.<ref name="Hammel-Kiesow3">{{cite book
 |last= Hammel-Kiesow
 |first= Rolf
 |title= Hoe de Hanze verdween en op de drempel van de 20e naar de 21e eeuw weer opleeft
 |trans-title= How the Hansa disappeared and rises on the threshold of the 20th to the 21st century again
 |url= {{google books |plainurl=y |id=T5e68QReeykC |page=191}}
 |page= 191
}} in {{harvnb|Brand|Egge|2010}}</ref>{{rp|page=192}}<ref name="beerbuehl"/>{{rp|page=2}}

=== Aftermath ===
The Hanseatic League, however, lived on in the public mind. [[Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor|Leopold I]] even requested Lübeck to call a Tagfahrt to rally support for him against the Turks.<ref name="Hammel-Kiesow3"/>{{rp|page=192}}

Lübeck, Hamburg, and Bremen continued to attempt common diplomacy, although interests had diverged by the [[Peace of Ryswick]].<ref name="Hammel-Kiesow3"/>{{rp|page=192}} Nonetheless, the Hanseatic Republics were able to jointly perform some diplomacy, such as a [[List of ambassadors of Germany to the United States|joint delegation to the United States]] in 1827, led by [[Vincent Rumpff]]; later the United States established a consulate to the ''Hanseatic and Free Cities'' from 1857 to 1862.<ref>{{Cite web
 |title= Hanseatic Republics* – Countries – Office of the Historian 
 |url= https://history.state.gov/countries/hanseatic-republics
 |website= history.state.gov
 |access-date= 10 May 2022
}}</ref> Britain maintained [[List of diplomats of the United Kingdom to the Hanseatic Cities|diplomats to the Hanseatic Cities]] until the [[unification of Germany]] in 1871. The three cities also had a common "Hanseatic" representation in Berlin until 1920.<ref name="Hammel-Kiesow3"/>{{rp|page=192}}

Three kontors remained as, often unused, Hanseatic property after the League's demise, as the Peterhof had closed in the 16th century. [[Bryggen]] was sold to Norwegian owners in 1754. The Steelyard in London and the [[Oostershuis]] in Antwerp were long impossible to sell. The Steelyard was finally sold in 1852 and the Oostershuis, closed in 1593, was sold in 1862.<ref name="Hammel-Kiesow3"/>{{rp|page=192}}<ref name="Dollinger2000 tensions"/>{{rp|pages=341–343}}

Hamburg, Bremen, and Lübeck remained as the only members until the League's formal end in 1862, on the eve of the 1867 founding of the [[North German Confederation]] and the 1871 founding of the [[German Empire]] under [[William I, German Emperor|Kaiser Wilhelm I]]. Despite its collapse, they cherished the link to the Hanseatic League. Until [[German reunification]], these three cities were the only ones that retained the words "Hanseatic City" in their official German names. Hamburg and Bremen continue to style themselves officially as "free Hanseatic cities", with Lübeck named "Hanseatic City". For Lübeck in particular, this anachronistic tie to a glorious past remained important in the 20th century. In 1937, the [[Nazi Party]] revoked its imperial immediacy through the [[Greater Hamburg Act]].<ref>{{cite book
 |last= Seegers
 |first= Lu
 |editor= Historische Kommission für Niedersachsen und Bremen
 |date= 2021
 |title= Niedersächsisches Jahrbuch für Landesgeschichte
 |volume= 92
 |page= 189
 |chapter= Hanseaten und das Hanseatische im 20. Jahrhundert
 |chapter-url= {{google books|plainurl=y|id=O22ADwAAQBAJ|page=189}}
 |publisher= Wallstein Verlag
 |isbn= 978-3-8353-4510-2
}}</ref> Since 1990, 24 other German cities have adopted this title.<ref>{{Cite web
 |title= Alle politisch selbständigen Gemeinden mit ausgewählten Merkmalen am 30.06.2022 (2. Quartal 2022)
 |trans-title= All politically independent municipalities with selected characteristics on June 30, 2022 (2nd quarter of 2022)
 |language= de
 |url= https://www.destatis.de/DE/Themen/Laender-Regionen/Regionales/Gemeindeverzeichnis/Administrativ/Archiv/GVAuszugQ/AuszugGV2QAktuell.html
 |website= Statistisches Bundesamt
 |access-date= 17 July 2022
 |archive-date= 17 July 2022
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220717150002/https://www.destatis.de/DE/Themen/Laender-Regionen/Regionales/Gemeindeverzeichnis/Administrativ/Archiv/GVAuszugQ/AuszugGV2QAktuell.html
 |url-status= live
 }}</ref>

== Organization ==
[[File:Siegel Stralsund 1329.preview.png|thumb|Hanseatic Seal of [[Stralsund]]]]
The Hanseatic League was a complex, loose-jointed constellation of protagonists pursuing their interests, which coincided in a shared program of economic domination in the Baltic region, and by no means a monolithic organization or a 'state within a state'.<ref name="Jahnke">{{cite book
 |last= Jahnke
 |first= Carsten
 |date= 2012
 |title= The Hanse in Medieval and Early Modern Europe
 |editor1-last= Wubs-Mrozewicz
 |editor1-first= Justyna
 |editor2-last= Jenks
 |editor2-first= Stuart
 |location= Leiden
 |publisher= Brill Academic Publishers
 |isbn= 978-90-0421-252-7
}}</ref>{{rp|37–38}} It gradually grew from a network of merchant guilds into a more formal association of cities, but never formed into a [[legal person]].<ref name="Wubs-Mrozewicz2010"/>{{rp|page=91}}

League members were [[Middle Low German|Low German]]-speaking, except for [[Dinant]]. Not all towns with Low German merchant communities were members (e.g., [[Emden]], Memel (today [[Klaipėda]]), Viborg (today [[Vyborg]]), and [[Narva]]). However, Hansards also came from settlements without [[German town law]]—the premise for league membership was birth to German parents, subjection to German law, and commercial education. The league served to advance and defend its members' common interests: commercial ambitions such as enhancement of trade, and political ambitions such as ensuring maximum independence from the territorial rulers.<ref name="Hammel-Kiesow">{{cite book
 |last= Hammel-Kiesow
 |first= Rolf
 |date= 2008
 |title= Die Hanse
 |language= de
 |trans-title= The Hanseatic League
 |location= Munich
 |publisher= C H Beck
 |isbn= 978-3-406-58352-0
}}</ref>{{rp|10–11}}

League decisions and actions were taken via a consensus-based procedure. If an issue arose, members were invited to participate in a central meeting, the ''Tagfahrt'' (Hanseatic Diet, "meeting ride", sometimes also referred to as ''Hansetag''), that may have begun around 1300,<ref name="Hammel-Kiesow2"/>{{rp|page=59}} and were formalized since 1358 (or possibly 1356).<ref name="Sarnowsky"/>{{rp|pages=66–67}} The member communities then chose envoys (''Ratssendeboten'') to represent their local consensus on the issue at the Diet. Not every community sent an envoy; delegates were often entitled to represent multiple communities. Consensus-building on local and ''Tagfahrt'' levels followed the Low Saxon tradition of ''Einung'', where consensus was defined as the absence of protest: after a discussion, the proposals that gained sufficient support were dictated to the scribe and passed as binding ''Rezess'' if the attendees did not object; those favoring alternative proposals unlikely to get sufficient support remained silent during this procedure. If consensus could not be established on a certain issue, it was found instead in the appointment of league members empowered to work out a compromise.<ref name="Hammel-Kiesow" />{{rp|70–72}}

The League was characterised by legal pluralism and the diets could not issue laws. But the cities cooperated to achieve limited trade regulation, such as measures against fraud, or worked together on a regional level. Attempts to harmonize maritime law yielded a series of ordinances in the 15th and 16th centuries. The most extensive maritime ordinance was the ''Ship Ordinance and Sea Law'' of 1614, but it may not have been enforced.<ref>{{cite book
 |first= Tobias
 |last= Boestad
 |editor-last1= Aust
 |editor-first1= Helmut P.
 |editor-last2= Marcenko
 |editor-first2= Miha
 |editor-last3= Nijman
 |editor-first3= Janne E.
 |date= 2021
 |title= Research Handbook on International Law and Cities
 |chapter= Legitimizing interurban cooperation in the Middle Ages: the legal system of the Hanse
 |publisher= Edward Elgar Publishing
 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=MXg8EAAAQBAJ
 |isbn= 978-1-78897-328-1
 |archive-date= 12 July 2024
 |access-date= 8 March 2023
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240712030955/https://books.google.com/books?id=MXg8EAAAQBAJ
 |url-status= live
 }}</ref>{{rp|pages=31, 37–38}}

=== Kontors ===
[[File:Hansehausantwerpen.jpg|thumb|The [[Oostershuis]], a [[kontor]] in Antwerp]]

A Hanseatic ''[[Kontor]]'' was a settlement of Hansards organized in the mid-14th century as a private corporation that had its treasury, court, legislation, and seal. They operated like an early [[stock exchange]].<ref>{{cite book
 |editor-last= Northrup
 |editor-first= Cynthia Clark
 |date= 2015
 |orig-date= 2005
 |edition= Reprint
 |title= Encyclopedia of World Trade: From Ancient Times to the Present
 |volume= 2
 |chapter= Hanseatic League
 |location= London and New York
 |publisher= Routledge
 |quote= To facilitate trade in foreign countries, the Hansa established counters (Kontore) [...]. [...] The counters operated as the equivalent of an early stock exchange.
 |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=LXkGCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA-
 |via= books.google.com
 |access-date= 19 February 2018
 |isbn= 978-0-7656-8058-7
 |archive-date= 12 July 2024
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240712083919/https://books.google.com/books?id=LXkGCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA-
 |url-status= live
 }}</ref>{{rp|443–446}} Kontors were first established to provide security, but also served to secure privileges and engage in diplomacy.<ref name="Burkhardt">{{cite book
 |last= Burkhardt
 |first= Mike
 |title= 'Kontors' and Outposts
 |date= 27 January 2015
 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=sfhyBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA127
 |pages= 127–161
 |publisher= BRILL
 |isbn= 978-90-04-28476-0
 |archive-date= 24 November 2024
 |access-date= 5 January 2025
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20241124164442/https://books.google.com/books?pg=PA127&id=sfhyBgAAQBAJ
 |url-status= live
 }} in {{harvnb|Harreld|2015}}</ref>{{rp|pages=128–130, 134–135}} The quality of goods was also examined at Kontors, increasing trade efficiency, and they served as bases to develop connections with local rulers and as sources of economic and political information.<ref name="Wubs-Mrozewicz2010">{{cite book
 |last= Wubs-Mrozewicz
 |first= Justyna
 |title= De Kantoren van de Hanze: Bergen, Brugge, Londen en Nowgorod
 |trans-title= The Kontors of the Hanseatic League: Bergen, Brugge, London and Novgorod
 |date= 2010 
 |page= 91
 |url= {{google books |plainurl=y |id=T5e68QReeykC |page=91}}
}} in {{harvnb|Brand|Egge|2010}}</ref>{{rp|page=91}}{{efn|name=kantq1}} Most contours were also physical locations containing buildings that were integrated and segregated from city life to different degrees. The [[kontor of Bruges]] was an exception in this regard; it acquired buildings only as of the 15th century.<ref name="Burkhardt"/>{{rp|pages=131–133}} Like the guilds, the ''Kontore'' were usually led by ''Ältermänner'' ("eldermen", or English [[aldermen]]). The [[Stalhof]], a special case, had a Hanseatic and an English alderman. In [[Peterhof (Novgorod)|Novgorod]] the aldermen were replaced by a ''hofknecht'' in the 15th century.<ref name="Dollinger2000 tensions" />{{rp|pages=100–101}} The contours statutes were read aloud to the present merchants once a year.<ref name="Burkhardt"/>{{rp|pages=131–133}}

In 1347 the ''Kontor'' of Bruges modified its statute to ensure an equal representation of League members. To that end, member communities from different regions were pooled into three circles (''Drittel'' ("third [part]"): the [[Germania Slavica|Wendish]] and [[Duchy of Saxony|Saxon]] Drittel, the [[Westphalia]]n and [[Prussia (region)|Prussian]] Drittel as well as the [[Gotland]]ian, [[Livonia]]n and [[History of Sweden|Swedish]] Drittel). Merchants from each ''Drittel'' chose two aldermen and six members of the Eighteen Men Council (''Achtzehnmännerrat'') to administer the ''Kontor'' for a set period.<ref name="Wubs-Mrozewicz2010" />{{rp|page=91, 101}}<ref name="Burkhardt"/>{{rp|pages=138–139}}

In 1356, during a Hanseatic meeting in preparation for the first (or one of the first) ''Tagfahrt'', the League confirmed this statute. All trader settlements including the ''Kontors'' were subordinated to the Diet's decisions around this time, and their envoys received the right to attend and speak at Diets, albeit without voting power.<ref name="Wubs-Mrozewicz2010" />{{rp|page=91}}{{efn|name=kantq2}}

=== Drittel ===
The league gradually divided the organization into three constituent parts called ''Drittel'' (German ''[[Wikt:Drittel|thirds]]''), as shown in the table below.<ref name="Hammel-Kiesow" />{{rp|62–63}}<ref name="Pfeiffer">{{cite book
 |last= Pfeiffer
 |first= Hermannus
 |date= 2009
 |title= Seemacht Deutschland. Die Hanse, Kaiser Wilhelm II. und der neue Maritime Komplex
 |language= de
 |trans-title= Sea power Germany. The Hanseatic League, Kaiser Wilhelm II, and the new Maritime Complex
 |location= Berlin
 |publisher= Ch. Links Verlag
 |isbn= 978-3-86153-513-3
}}</ref>{{rp|55}}<ref name="Mills">{{cite encyclopedia
 |last= Mills
 |first= Jennifer
 |date= May 1998
 |title= The Hanseatic League in the Eastern Baltic
 |encyclopedia= Encyclopedia of Baltic History (group research project)
 |location= Seattle, WA
 |publisher= [[University of Washington]]
 |url= http://depts.washington.edu/baltic/papers/hansa.html
 |via= depts.washington.edu
 |access-date= 15 May 2011
 |archive-date= 29 June 2011
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110629134048/http://depts.washington.edu/baltic/papers/hansa.html
 |url-status= live
 }}</ref><ref name="Falke">{{cite book
 |last= Falke
 |first= Dr Johannes
 |date= 1863
 |title= Die Hansa als deutsche See- und Handelsmacht
 |language= de
 |trans-title= The Hanseatic League as a German maritime and trading power
 |location= Berlin
 |publisher= F Henschel
 |url= {{google books |plainurl=y |id=01NAAAAAcAAJ |page=62}}
 |via= books.google.com
}}</ref>{{rp|pages=62–64}}

{| class="wikitable floatleft"
! ''Drittel'' (1356–1554)
! Regions
! Chief city (''Vorort'')
|-
| Wendish-Saxon
| [[Duchy of Holstein|Holstein]], [[Duchy of Saxony|Saxony]], [[Duchy of Mecklenburg|Mecklenburg]], [[Duchy of Pomerania|Pomerania]], [[Margraviate of Brandenburg|Brandenburg]]
| [[Lübeck]]
|-
| Westphalian-Prussian
| [[Westphalia]], [[Rhineland]], [[Prussia (region)|Prussia]]
| [[Dortmund]], later [[Imperial Free City of Cologne|Cologne]]
|-
| Gotlandian-Livonian-Swedish
| [[Gotland]], [[Livonia]], [[History of Sweden|Sweden]]
| [[Visby]], later [[Riga]]
|}
{{clear}}

The ''Hansetag'' was the only central institution of the Hanseatic League. However, with the division into ''Drittel'', the members of the respective subdivisions frequently held a ''Dritteltage'' ("''Drittel'' meeting") to work out common positions which could then be presented at a ''Hansetag''. On a more local level, league members also met, and while such regional meetings never crystallized into a Hanseatic institution, they gradually gained importance in the process of preparing and implementing the Diet's decisions.<ref name="Distler">{{cite book
 |last= Distler
 |first= Eva-Marie
 |date= 2006
 |title= Städtebünde im deutschen Spätmittelalter. Eine rechtshistorische Untersuchung zu Begriff, Verfassung und Funktion
 |language= de
 |trans-title= City leagues in the German late Middle Ages. A legal-historical study of the concept, constitution and function
 |location= Frankfurt
 |publisher= Vittorio Klostermann
 |isbn= 978-34-6504001-9
}}</ref>{{rp|pages=55–57}}

=== Quarters ===<!--linked from [[Template:Hanseatic League]]-->
From 1554, the division into ''Drittel'' was modified to reduce the circles' heterogeneity, to enhance the collaboration of the members on a regional level and thus to make the League's decision-making process more efficient.<ref name="Fritze">{{cite book
 |last1= Fritze
 |first1= Konrad
 |last2= Schildhauer
 |first2= J.
 |last3= Stark
 |first3= W.
 |display-authors= etal
 |date= 1985
 |title= Die Geschichte der Hanse
 |language= de
 |trans-title= The History of the Hanseatic League
 |location= Berlin
 |publisher= Das Europäische Buch
 |isbn= 978-3-8843-6142-9
}}</ref>{{rp|page=217}} The number of circles rose to four, so they were called ''Quartiere'' (quarters):<ref name="Pfeiffer" />

{| class="wikitable floatleft"
! Quartier (since 1554)
! Chief city (''Vorort'')
|-
| Wendish and Pomeranian<ref name="Natkiel">{{cite book
 |last1= Natkiel
 |first1= Richard
 |last2= Preston
 |first2= Antony 
 |date= 1989
 |title= Atlas of Maritime History
 |page= 33
 |location= New York
 |publisher= Smithmark Publishing
 |isbn= 978-0-8317-0485-8
 |url= https://archive.org/details/atlasofmaritimeh0000natk/page/33
 |via= archive.org
}}</ref>
| [[Lübeck]]<ref name="Natkiel" />
|-
| Saxon, Thuringian and Brandenburg<ref name="Natkiel" />
| [[Braunschweig|Brunswick]],<ref name="Natkiel" /> [[Magdeburg]]{{Citation needed|date= December 2011}}
|-
| Prussia, Livonia and Sweden<ref name="Natkiel" />&nbsp;– or East Baltic<ref name="Keating">{{cite book
 |last= Keating
 |first= Michael
 |date= 2004
 |title= Regions and Regionalism in Europe
 |location= Cheltenham
 |publisher= Edward Elgar Publishing
 |isbn= 978-0-8317-0485-8
 |url= {{google books |plainurl=y |id=6meikazgxksC}}
 |via= books.google.com
}}</ref>{{rp|pages=47,120}}
| [[Danzig]] (now Gdańsk)<ref name="Natkiel" />
|-
| Rhine, Westphalia and the Netherlands<ref name="Natkiel" />
| [[Cologne]]<ref name="Natkiel" />
|}
{{clear}}

This division was however not adopted by the ''Kontore'', who, for their purposes (like ''Ältermänner'' elections), grouped League members in different ways (e.g., the division adopted by the [[Stalhof]] in London in 1554 grouped members into ''Dritteln'', whereby Lübeck merchants represented the Wendish, Pomeranian Saxon, and several Westphalian towns, Cologne merchants represented the [[Duchy of Cleves|Cleves]], [[County of Mark|Mark]], [[Berg (state)|Berg]] and Dutch towns, while Danzig merchants represented the Prussian and Livonian towns).<ref name="Reibstein">{{cite journal
 |last= Reibstein
 |first= Ernst
 |date= 1956
 |title= Das Völkerrecht der deutschen Hanse
 |language= de
 |trans-title= The international law of the German Hanseatic League
 |journal= Zeitschrift für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht
 |trans-journal= Journal for Foreign Public Law and International Law
 |volume= 17
 |issue= 1
 |issn= 0044-2348
 |location= Heidelberg
 |publisher= Max-Planck-Institut für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht
 |url= http://www.zaoerv.de/17_1956_57/17_1956_1_a_38_92.pdf
 |access-date= 30 April 2010
 |via= www.zaoerv.de
 |archive-date= 4 October 2011
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111004023752/http://www.zaoerv.de/17_1956_57/17_1956_1_a_38_92.pdf
 |url-status= live
 }}</ref>{{rp|page=38–92}}

== Hanseatic ships ==
Various types of ships were used.

=== Cog ===
The most used type, and the most emblematic, was the [[Cog (ship)|cog]]. The cog was a multi-purpose [[Clinker (boat building)|clinker-built]] ship with a carvel bottom, a stern rudder, and a [[square rig]]ged mast. Most cogs were privately owned and were also used as warships. Cogs were built in various sizes and specifications and were used on both the seas and rivers. They could be outfitted with castles starting from the thirteenth century. The cog was depicted on many seals and several coats of arms of Hanseatic cities, like [[Stralsund]], [[Elbląg]] and [[Wismar]]. Several shipwrecks have been found. The most notable wreck is the [[Bremen cog]].<ref name="Heidbrink2012" />{{rp|page=35–36}} It could carry a cargo of about 125 tons.<ref>{{cite book
 |last= Baker
 |first= William A.
 |editor-first1= Lawrence E.
 |editor-last1= Babits
 |editor-first2= Hans
 |editor-last2= Tilburg, van
 |date= 2013
 |title= Maritime Archaeology: A Reader of Substantive and Theoretical Contributions
 |chapter= The Technical Importance of Shipwreck Archaeology
 |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=UzjoBwAAQBAJ
 |publisher= Springer
 |isbn= 978-1-4899-0084-5
 |archive-date= 12 July 2024
 |access-date= 27 January 2023
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240712030954/https://books.google.com/books?id=UzjoBwAAQBAJ
 |url-status= live
 }}</ref>{{rp|page=20}}

=== Hulk ===
[[File:Adler von Lübeck.jpg|thumb|Modern, faithful painting of the ''[[Adler von Lübeck]]''&nbsp;– the world's largest ship in its time]]

The [[hulk (medieval ship type)|hulk]] began to replace the cog by 1400 and cogs lost their dominance to them around 1450.<ref name="Elbl">{{cite book
 |last= Elbl
 |first= Martin Malcolm
 |editor-first1= John Block
 |editor-last1= Friedman
 |editor-first2= Kristen Mossler
 |editor-last2= Figg
 |date= 2020
 |title= Trade, Travel, and Exploration in the Middle Ages: An Encyclopedia
 |chapter= Hulk
 |chapter-url= {{google books |plainurl=y |id=-OmCfNI_SxAC}}
 |publisher= Routledge
 |isbn= 978-1-135-59094-9
}}</ref>{{rp|page=264}}

The hulk was a bulkier ship that could carry larger cargo; Elbl estimates they could carry up to 500 tons by the 15th century. It could be clinker or carvel-built.<ref name="Elbl" />{{rp|page=264}}<ref>{{cite book
 |last= Martin
 |first= C.
 |editor-first1= P.
 |editor-last1= Gallacher
 |editor-first2= D.W.
 |editor-last2= Cruickshank
 |date= 1990
 |title= God's Obvious Design: Papers for the Spanish Armada Symposium, Sligo, 1988
 |chapter= Hulk
 |chapter-url= {{google books|plainurl=y|id=5FPK5cjimbUC|page=62}}
 |page= 62
 |publisher= Tamesis Books
 |isbn= 978-1-855660-00-7
}}</ref>{{rp|page=64}} No archeological evidence of a hulk has been found.

=== Carvel ===
In 1464, Danzig acquired a French carvel ship through a legal dispute and renamed it the [[Peter von Danzig (ship)|Peter von Danzig]]. It was 40 m long and had three masts, one of the largest ships of its time. Danzig adopted carvel construction around 1470.<ref name="Meier" />{{rp|page=44}} Other cities shifted to carvels starting from this time. An example is the [[Jesus of Lübeck]], later sold to England for use as a warship and slave ship.<ref>{{cite book
 |last= Paine
 |first= Lincoln P. 
 |date= 2000
 |title= Warships of the World to 1900
 |chapter= Jesus of Lübeck
 |chapter-url= {{google books|plainurl=y|id=Xh7CSxFeK-IC|page=86}}
 |pages= 86–87
 |publisher= Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
 |isbn= 978-0-395-98414-7
}}</ref>

The galleonlike carvel warship ''[[Adler von Lübeck]]'' was constructed by Lübeck for military use against [[Swedish Empire|Sweden]] during the [[Northern Seven Years' War]] (1563–70). Launched in 1566, it was never put to military use after the [[Treaty of Stettin (1570)|Treaty of Stettin]]. It was the biggest ship of its day at 78 m long and had four masts, including a [[bonaventure mizzen]]. It served as a merchant ship until it was damaged in 1581 on a return voyage from Lisbon and broken up in 1588.<ref name="Meier" />{{rp|pages=43–44}}<ref>{{cite book
 |last= Kuipers
 |first= Jan J.B.
 |date= 2020
 |title= De Hanze: Kooplui, koningen, steden & staten
 |trans-title= The Hanseatic League: Traders, kings, cities & states
 |publisher= Walburg Pers, Amsterdam University Press
 |isbn= 9789462495609
 |url= {{google books|plainurl=y|id=BCYGEAAAQBAJ}}
}}</ref>

== Hanseatic cities ==
[[File:Kaart Hanzesteden en handelsroutes.jpg|thumb|Map of the Hanseatic League, showing principal Hanseatic cities]]

===Hansa Proper===
In the table below, the names listed in the column labeled Quarter have been summarised as follows: 
* "Wendish": Wendish and Pomeranian<ref name="Natkiel" /> (or just Wendish)<ref name="Keating" />{{rp|120}} quarter
* "Saxon": Saxon, Thuringian and Brandenburg<ref name="Natkiel" /> (or just Saxon)<ref name="Keating" />{{rp|120}} quarter
* "Baltic": Prussian, Livonian and Swedish<ref name="Natkiel" /> (or East Baltic)<ref name="Keating" />{{rp|120}} quarter
* "Westphalian": Rhine-Westphalian and Netherlands (including Flanders)<ref name="Natkiel" /> (or Rhineland)<ref name="Keating" />{{rp|120}} quarter

The remaining column headings are as follows:
* City – the city's name, with any variants
* Territory – the jurisdiction to which the city was subject at the time of the League
* Now –  the modern nation-state in which the city is located
* From and Until –  the dates at which the city joined and/or left the league
* Notes – additional details about the city
* Ref. – one or more references to works about the city

{{hidden begin
|title =  List of cities in Hansa Proper
|titlestyle = background:#F8F8FF;width:60%
}} 
<!-- (GUIDANCE FOR EDITORS) ------------------------------------------------------------------- -->
<!-- TO ENSURE THAT THE 'REFS' COLUMN IS NARROW TO LEAVE ENOUGH WIDTH FOR THE 'NOTES' COLUMN,   -->
<!-- PLEASE KEEP REF TAGS LISTED VERTICALLY BY INSERTING THEM WITHIN A 'PLAINLIST' TEMPLATE:    -->                                            
<!--    {{plainlist|    ← start plainlist                                                       -->
<!--    * <ref name="first_ref" />                                                              -->
<!--    * ...                                                                                   -->
<!--    * <ref name="last_ref" />                                                               -->
<!--    }}              ← end plainlist                                                         -->
<!-- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -->
{| class="sortable wikitable" style="width: 100%"
! style="width: 10%; " | Quarter
! style="width: 15%; " | City
! style="width: 10%; " | Territory
! style="width: 10%; " | Now
! style="width: 5%; "  | From
! style="width: 5%; "  | Until
! class="unsortable" style="width: 40%;" | Notes
! class="unsortable" style="width: 5%; " | {{ref heading}}
|- valign="top"
| Wendish
| {{sort|Lubeck|[[File:Wappen Lübeck.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Lübeck]]}}
| {{sort|Free imperial city|[[File:Wappen Lübeck.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Free City of Lübeck]]}}
| {{DEU}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" | Capital of the Hanseatic League, the main town of the Wendish and Pomeranian Circle
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Falke" />
* <ref name="Natkiel" />
* <ref name="Keating" />{{rp|47, 120}}
* <ref name="Penguin">{{cite book |first=Andrew |last=Jotischky |author2=Caroline Hull |title=The Penguin Historical Atlas of the Medieval World |url=https://archive.org/details/penguinhistorica0000joti |url-access=registration |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |year=2005 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/penguinhistorica0000joti/page/122 122–23] |isbn=978-0-14-101449-4}}</ref>
* <ref name="Holborn">{{cite book |first=Hajo |last=Holborn |title=A History of Modern Germany: The Reformation |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=1982 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/historyofmoderng00hajo/page/32] [https://books.google.com/books?id=350Qosar-UcC&pg=PA32 32], [https://books.google.com/books?id=350Qosar-UcC&pg=PA74 74], [https://books.google.com/books?id=350Qosar-UcC&pg=PA80 80–82] |isbn=0-691-00795-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofmoderng00hajo/page/32}}</ref>{{rp|74, 82}}
* <ref name="Dollinger2000 list">{{cite book |title=The German Hansa |last=Dollinger |first=Philippe |year=2000 |publisher=[[Stanford University Press]] |isbn=0-8047-0742-1 |pages=ix–x |url=https://archive.org/details/germanhansa0000doll |url-access=registration |access-date=15 May 2011}}</ref>
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Wendish
| {{sort|Hamburg|[[File:Coat of arms of Hamburg.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Hamburg]]}}
| {{sort|Free imperial city|[[File:Coat of arms of Hamburg.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Hamburg|Free City of Hamburg]]}}
| {{DEU}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Falke" />
* <ref name="Keating" />{{rp|47}}
* <ref name="Penguin" />
* <ref name="Holborn" />{{rp|82}}
* <ref name="Barthold">{{cite book |title=Geschichte der Deutschen Hanse |trans-title=History of the German Hansa |last=Barthold |first=Dr Friedrich Wilhelm |publisher=TD Weigel |location=Leipzig |year=1862 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/geschichtederde04bartgoog/page/n47 35] and [https://archive.org/details/geschichtederde04bartgoog/page/n508 496–97]}}</ref>
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Wendish
| {{sort|Luneburg|[[File:DEU Lüneburg COA.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Lüneburg]]}}
| {{sort|Brunswick-Luneburg|[[File:Coat of Arms of Brunswick-Lüneburg.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg]]}}
| {{DEU}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Falke" />
* <ref name="Penguin" />
* <ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
* <ref name="Barthold" />
* <ref name="Schäfer">{{cite book |first=D |last=Schäfer |title=Die deutsche Hanse |trans-title=The German Hanseatic League |publisher=Reprint-Verlag-Leipzig |year=2010 |isbn=978-3-8262-1933-7 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=w3QZte0aHQ0C&pg=PA37 37]}}</ref>
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Wendish
| {{sort|Wismar|[[File:DEU Wismar COA.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Wismar]]}}
| {{sort|Mecklenburg|[[File:Mecklenburg Arms.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Mecklenburg|Duchy of Mecklenburg]]}}
| {{DEU}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" | Joined the 10-year [[Rostock Peace Treaty]] (''Rostocker Landfrieden'') in 1283, which was the predecessor of the federation of Wendish towns (1293 onwards).
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Falke" />
* <ref name="Penguin" />
* <ref name="Holborn" />{{rp|82}}
* <ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
* <ref name="Barthold" />
* <ref name="Wernicke">{{cite book
 |last=Wernicke
 |first=Horst
 |chapter=Die Hansestädte an der Oder
 |title=Oder-Odra. Blicke auf einen europäischen Strom
 |chapter-url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=NxqZHbORC9sC|page=1}}
 |editor1-first=Karl
 |editor1-last=Schlögel
 |editor2-first=Beata
 |editor2-last=Halicka
 |publisher=Lang
 |year=2007
 |isbn=978-3-631-56149-2
 |pages=137–48; here p. 142
 |language=de}}</ref>
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Wendish
| {{sort|Rostock|[[File:Rostock Wappen.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Rostock]]}}
| {{sort|Mecklenburg|[[File:Mecklenburg Arms.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Mecklenburg|Duchy of Mecklenburg]]}}
| {{DEU}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" | Joined the 10-year Rostock Peace Treaty in 1283, which was the predecessor of the federation of Wendish towns (1293 onwards).
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Falke" />
* <ref name="Penguin" />
* <ref name="Holborn" />{{rp|82}}
* <ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
* <ref name="Barthold" />
* <ref name="Wernicke" />
* <ref name="Mehler JNA">{{cite journal |first=Natascha |last=Mehler |year=2009 |title=The Perception and Interpretation of Hanseatic Material Culture in the North Atlantic: Problems and Suggestions |journal=Journal of the North Atlantic |issue=Special Volume 1: Archaeologies of the Early Modern North Atlantic |pages=89–108 |url=http://histarch.univie.ac.at/fileadmin/user_upload/ag_histarch/PDF-Dateien/Mehler/Mehler_2009_JONA.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724110839/http://histarch.univie.ac.at/fileadmin/user_upload/ag_histarch/PDF-Dateien/Mehler/Mehler_2009_JONA.pdf |archive-date=24 July 2011 }}</ref>
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Wendish
| {{sort|Stralsund|[[File:Wappen Stralsund.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Stralsund]]}}
| {{sort|Rugen|[[File:Księstwo rugijskie COA.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Principality of Rügen]]}}
| {{DEU}}
| {{nts|1293|format=no}}
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" | Rügen was a fief of the [[History of Denmark#Middle Ages|Danish crown]] to 1325. Stralsund joined the 10-year Rostock Peace Treaty in 1283, which was the predecessor of the federation of Wendish towns (1293 onwards). From 1339 to the 17th century, Stralsund was a member of the ''Vierstädtebund'' with Greifswald, Demmin and Anklam.
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Falke" />
* <ref name="Penguin" />
* <ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
* <ref name="Barthold" />
* <ref name="Wernicke" />
* <ref name="EB:Stralsund">{{cite encyclopedia |year=2011 |title=Stralsund |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/567988/Stralsund |access-date=28 December 2011}}</ref>
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Wendish
| {{sort|Demmin|[[File:DEU Demmin COA.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Demmin]]}}
| {{sort|Pomerania|[[File:Wappen Pommern.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Duchy of Pomerania]]}}
| {{DEU}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" | Joined the 10-year Rostock Peace Treaty in 1283, which was the predecessor of the federation of Wendish towns (1293 onwards). From 1339 to the 17th century, Demmin was a member of the ''Vierstädtebund'' with Stralsund, Greifswald and Anklam.
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Falke" />
* <ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
* <ref name="Wernicke" />
* <ref name="Buchholz">{{cite book |last=Buchholz |first=Werner|year=1999 |language=de |title=Pommern |publisher=Siedler |page=120 |isbn=3-88680-272-8 |display-authors=etal}}</ref>
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Wendish
| {{sort|Greifswald|[[File:Wappen Greifswald.svg|left|25px|alt=]] {{Nowrap|[[Greifswald]]}}}}
| {{sort|Pomerania|[[File:Wappen Pommern.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Duchy of Pomerania]]}}
| {{DEU}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" | Joined the 10-year Rostock Peace Treaty in 1283, which was the predecessor of the federation of Wendish towns (1293 onwards). From 1339 to the 17th century, Greifswald was a member of the ''Vierstädtebund'' with Stralsund, Demmin and Anklam.
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Falke" />
* <ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
* <ref name="Barthold" />
* <ref name="Wernicke" />
* <ref name="Buchholz" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Wendish
| {{sort|Anklam|[[File:DEU Hansestadt Anklam COA.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Anklam]]}}
| {{sort|Pomerania|[[File:Wappen Pommern.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Duchy of Pomerania]]}}
| {{DEU}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" | Joined the 10-year Rostock Peace Treaty in 1283, which was the predecessor of the federation of Wendish towns (1293 onwards). From 1339 to the 17th century, Anklam was a member of the ''Vierstädtebund'' with Stralsund, Greifswald and Demmin.
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Falke" />
* <ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
* <ref name="Wernicke" />
* <ref name="Buchholz" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Wendish
| {{sort|Stettin|[[File:Hanse Stettin.svg|border|left|25px|alt=]] Stettin ([[Szczecin]])}}
| {{sort|Pomerania|[[File:Wappen Pommern.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Duchy of Pomerania]]}}
| {{POL}}
| {{nts|1278|format=no}}
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" | Joined the 10-year Rostock Peace Treaty in 1283, which was the predecessor of the federation of Wendish towns (1293 onwards); since the 14th century gradually adopted the role of a chief city for the Pomeranian Hanse towns to its east
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Falke" />
* <ref name="Keating" />{{rp|120}}
* <ref name="Penguin" />
* <ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
* <ref name="Schäfer" />
* <ref name="Wernicke" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Wendish
| {{sort|Pasewalk|[[File:Wappen Pasewalk.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Pasewalk]]}}
| {{sort|Pomerania|[[File:Wappen Pommern.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Duchy of Pomerania]]}}
| {{DEU}}
|
|
|
|
|- valign="top"
| Wendish
| {{sort|Kolberg|[[File:Herb Kolobrzegu.svg|left|25px|alt=]] Kolberg ([[Kołobrzeg]])}}
| {{sort|Pomerania|[[File:Wappen Pommern.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Duchy of Pomerania]]}}
| {{POL}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Falke" />
* <ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
* <ref name="Schäfer" />
* <ref name="Buchholz" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Wendish
| {{sort|Rugenwalde|[[File:POL Darłowo COA 1.svg|left|25px|alt=]] Rügenwalde ([[Darłowo]])}}
| {{sort|Pomerania|[[File:Wappen Pommern.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Duchy of Pomerania]]}}
| {{POL}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Falke" />
* <ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
* <ref name="Barthold" />
* <ref name="Schäfer" />
* <ref name="Buchholz" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Wendish
| {{sort|Stolp|[[File:POL Słupsk COA 1.svg|left|25px|alt=]] Stolp ([[Słupsk]])}}
| {{sort|Pomerania|[[File:Wappen Pommern.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Duchy of Pomerania]]}}
| {{POL}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
* <ref name="Schäfer" />
* <ref name="Buchholz" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Wendish
| {{sort|Stargard|[[File:POL Stargard COA.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Stargard]]}}
| {{sort|Pomerania|[[File:Wappen Pommern.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Duchy of Pomerania]]}}
| {{POL}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
*<ref name="Falke" /><ref name="Penguin" />
*<ref name="Dollinger2000 list" /><ref name="Schäfer" />
*<ref name="LP Poland" />{{rp|476}}
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Baltic
| {{sort|Visby|[[File:Visby vapen.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Visby]]}}
| {{sort|Sweden|[[File:Shield of arms of Sweden.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[History of Sweden (800–1521)|Kingdom of Sweden]]}}
| {{SWE}}
|
| {{nts|1470|format=no}}
| style="font-size: 90%;" | In 1285 at [[Kalmar]], the League agreed with [[Magnus III of Sweden|Magnus III, King of Sweden]], that [[Gotland]] be joined with Sweden.{{Citation needed|date=April 2011}} In 1470, Visby's status was rescinded by the League, with Lübeck razing the city's churches in May 1525.
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Falke" />
* <ref name="Penguin" />
* <ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
* <ref name="Visby">{{cite web |url=http://www.guteinfo.com/?id=2337 |title=Varför ruinerades Visby |trans-title=Why is Visby ruined |work=Goteinfo.com |access-date=30 April 2011 |language=sv |archive-date=30 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930045102/http://www.guteinfo.com/?id=2337 |url-status=live }}</ref>
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Saxon
| {{sort|Braunschweig|[[File:DEU Braunschweig COA.svg|left|25px|alt=]] {{Nowrap|[[Braunschweig]]}}}}
| {{sort|Brunswick-Luneburg|[[File:Coat of Arms of Brunswick-Lüneburg.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg]]}}
| {{DEU}}
| {{ntsh|1200}} 13th cent.
| {{ntsh|1600}} 17th cent.
| style="font-size: 90%;" | Main town of the Saxon, Thuringian and Brandenburg Circle
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Falke" />
* <ref name="Natkiel" />
* <ref name="Penguin" />
* <ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
* <ref name="Barthold" />
* <ref name="Schäfer" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Saxon
| {{sort|Bremen|[[File:Bremen Wappen.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Bremen]]}}
| {{sort|Free imperial city|[[File:Bremen Wappen.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Bremen#History|Free City of Bremen]]}}
| {{DEU}}
| {{nts|1260|format=no}}
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Falke" />
* <ref name="Penguin" />
* <ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
* <ref name="Barthold" />
* <ref name="Mehler JNA" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Saxon
| {{sort|Magdeburg|[[File:Wappen Magdeburg.svg|left|25px|alt=]] {{Nowrap|[[Magdeburg]]}}}}
| {{sort|Magdeburg|[[File:Coat of Arms of the Archbishopric of Magdeburg.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Archbishopric of Magdeburg]]}}
| {{DEU}}
| {{ntsh|1200}} 13th cent.
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" | Main town of the Saxon, Thuringian and Brandenburg Circle
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Falke" />
* <ref name="Penguin" />
* <ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
* <ref name="Barthold" />
* <ref name="Schäfer" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Saxon
| {{sort|Goslar|[[File:Wappen Goslar.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Goslar]]}}
| {{sort|Goslar|[[File:Wappen Goslar.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Goslar|Imperial City of Goslar]]}}
| {{DEU}}
| {{nts|1267|format=no}}
| {{nts|1566|format=no}}
| style="font-size: 90%;" | Goslar was a fief of [[Duchy of Saxony|Saxony]] until 1280.
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Falke" />
* <ref name="Penguin" />
* <ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
* <ref name="Barthold" />
* <ref name="Schäfer" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Saxon
| {{sort|Hanover|[[File:Coat of arms of Hannover.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Hanover]]}}
| {{sort|Brunswick-Luneburg|[[File:Coat of Arms of Brunswick-Lüneburg.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg]]}}
| {{DEU}}
| 
| 
| style="font-size: 90%;" | 
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Falke" /><ref name="Barthold" />
*<ref name="Schäfer" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Saxon
| {{sort|Göttingen|[[File:DEU Goettingen COA.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Göttingen]]}}
| {{sort|Brunswick-Luneburg|[[File:Coat of Arms of Brunswick-Lüneburg.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg]]}}
| {{DEU}}
| 
| 
| style="font-size: 90%;" | 
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Falke" /><ref name="Barthold" />
*<ref name="Schäfer" /><ref name="EB Göttingen">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/239864/Gottingen |title=Göttingen |access-date=2 May 2011 |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |archive-date=5 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110505094254/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/239864/Gottingen |url-status=live }}</ref>
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Saxon
| {{sort|Erfurt|[[File:Wappen Erfurt.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Erfurt]]}}
| {{sort|Mainz|[[File:Wappen-Mainz.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Archbishopric of Mainz]]}}
| {{DEU}}
| {{nts|1430|format=no}}
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Falke" />
* <ref name="Penguin" />
* <ref>Westholm, Gun. ''Hanseatic Sites, Routes and Monuments: A Traveler's Guide to the Past and Present.'' Uppsala: Gotland Centre for Baltic Studies, 1994.</ref>
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Saxon
| {{sort|Stade|[[File:Altes Wappen Stade.png|left|25px|alt=]] [[Stade]]}}
| {{sort|Bremen|[[File:Bremen-Erzbistum.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Archbishopric of Bremen]]}}
| {{DEU}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Falke" />
* <ref name="Barthold" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Saxon
| {{sort|Berlin|[[File:Brandenburg Wappen.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Berlin#12th to 16th centuries|Berlin]]}}<!-- Berlin didn't have its own CoA until 1920 -->
| {{sort|Brandenburg|[[File:Armoiries électeur Brandebourg.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Margraviate of Brandenburg]]}}
| {{DEU}}
|
| {{nts|1442|format=no}}
| style="font-size: 90%;" | Brandenburg was raised to an Electorate in 1356. [[Frederick II, Elector of Brandenburg|Elector Frederick II]] caused all the Brandenburg cities to leave the League in 1442.
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Keating" />{{rp|120}}
* <ref name="Penguin" />
* <ref name="Holborn" />{{rp|32}}
* <ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
* <ref name="Schäfer" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Saxon
| {{sort|Frankfurt Oder|[[File:Wappen Frankfurt (Oder).png|left|25px|alt=]]<br />[[Frankfurt (Oder)|{{Nowrap|Frankfurt}} an der Oder]]}}
| {{sort|Brandenburg|[[File:Armoiries électeur Brandebourg.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Margraviate of Brandenburg]]}}
| {{DEU}}
| {{nts|1430|format=no}}
| {{nts|1442|format=no}}
| style="font-size: 90%;" | [[Frederick II, Elector of Brandenburg|Elector Frederick II]] caused all the Brandenburg cities to leave the League in 1442.
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Penguin" />
* <ref name="Holborn" />{{rp|32}}
* <ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
* <ref name="Schäfer" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Saxon
| {{sort|Salzwedel|[[File:Wappen Salzwedel.png|left|25px|alt=]] [[Salzwedel]]}}
| {{sort|Brandenburg|[[File:Armoiries électeur Brandebourg.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Margraviate of Brandenburg]]}}
| {{DEU}}
| {{nts|1263|format=no}}
| {{nts|1518|format=no}}
| style="font-size: 90%;" | In 1488 the Hanseatic cities of the Altmark region rebelled against a beer tax against Elector of Brandenburg John Cicero. They lost and were punished by being forced to leave the Hanseatic League. Salzwedel and Stendal managed to stay in the Hanseatic League until 1518.
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Penguin" />
* <ref name="Holborn" />{{rp|32}}
* <ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
* <ref name="Schäfer" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Saxon
| {{sort|Uelzen|[[File:DEU_Uelzen_COA.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Uelzen]]}}
| {{sort|Brunswick-Luneburg|[[File:Coat of Arms of Brunswick-Lüneburg.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg]]}}
| {{DEU}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" | 
|
|- valign="top"
| Saxon
| {{sort|Stendal|[[File:DEU Stendal COA.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Stendal]]}}
| {{sort|Brandenburg|[[File:Armoiries électeur Brandebourg.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Margraviate of Brandenburg]]}}
| {{DEU}}
| {{nts|1358|format=no}}
| {{nts|1518|format=no}}
| style="font-size: 90%;" | In 1488 the Hanseatic cities of the Altmark region rebelled against a beer tax against Elector of Brandenburg John Cicero. They lost and were punished by being forced to leave the Hanseatic League. Salzwedel and Stendal managed to stay in the Hanseatic League until 1518.
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Penguin" />
* <ref name="Holborn" />{{rp|32}}
* <ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
* <ref name="Schäfer" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Saxon
| {{sort|Hamelin|[[File:DEU Hamelin COA.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Hamelin]]}}
|
| {{DEU}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Schäfer" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Baltic
| {{sort|Danzig|[[File:Gdansk COA.svg|left|25px|alt=]] Danzig ([[Gdańsk]])}}
| {{sort|Teutonic Order|[[File:Den tyske ordens skjold.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[State of the Teutonic Order|Teutonic Order]]}}
| {{POL}}
| {{nts|1358|format=no}}
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" | Main town of the Prussian, Livonian and Swedish (or East Baltic) Circle. Danzig had been first a part of the [[Feudal partition of Poland (1138-1320)|Duchy of Pomerelia with a Kashubian and a growing German population]], then part of the [[State of the Teutonic Order]] from 1308 until 1457. After the [[Second Peace of Thorn (1466)]] Danzig became an autonomous city under the protection of the Polish Crown until the 18th century when it was annexed by Prussia.
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Falke" />
* <ref name="Natkiel" />
* <ref name="Keating" />{{rp|120}}
* <ref name="Penguin" />
* <ref name="Holborn" />{{rp|81}}
* <ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
* <ref name="Barthold" />
* <ref name="Schäfer" />
* <ref name="LP Poland">{{cite book |first=Neil |last=Bedford |title=Poland |publisher=[[Lonely Planet]] |year=2008 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Qe3UzP5I2vsC&pg=PA403 403], [https://books.google.com/books?id=Qe3UzP5I2vsC&pg=PA436 436], [https://books.google.com/books?id=Qe3UzP5I2vsC&pg=PA452 452] and [https://books.google.com/books?id=Qe3UzP5I2vsC&pg=PA476 476] |isbn=978-1-74104-479-9}}</ref>{{rp|403}}
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Baltic
| {{sort|Elbing|[[File:POL Elbląg COA.svg|left|25px|alt=]] Elbing ([[Elbląg]])}}
| {{sort|Teutonic Order|[[File:Den tyske ordens skjold.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[State of the Teutonic Order|Teutonic Order]]}}
| {{POL}}
| {{nts|1358|format=no}}
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" | Elbing had originally been part of the territory of the [[Old Prussians]], until the 1230s when it became part of the [[State of the Teutonic Order]]. After the [[Second Peace of Thorn (1466)]], [[Royal Prussia]], including Elbląg was part of the [[Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)|Kingdom of Poland]].
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Falke" />
* <ref name="Penguin" />
* <ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
* <ref name="Barthold" />
* <ref name="Schäfer" />
* <ref name="LP Poland" />{{rp|452}}
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Baltic
| {{sort|Thorn|[[File:POL Toruń COA.svg|left|25px|alt=]] Thorn ([[Toruń]])}}
| {{sort|Teutonic Order|[[File:Den tyske ordens skjold.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[State of the Teutonic Order|Teutonic Order]]}}
| {{POL}}
| {{nts|1280|format=no}}
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" | Toruń was part of the [[State of the Teutonic Order]] from 1233 until 1466. After the [[Second Peace of Thorn (1466)]], [[Royal Prussia]], including Toruń, was part of the [[Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)|Kingdom of Poland]].
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Falke" />
* <ref name="Penguin" />
* <ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
* <ref name="Schäfer" />
* <ref name="LP Poland" />{{rp|436}}
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Baltic
| {{sort|Krakow|[[File:POL Kraków COA.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Kraków]]}}
| {{sort|Poland|[[File:Coat of Arms of the Polish Crown.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)|Kingdom of Poland]]}}
| {{POL}}
| {{nts|1370|format=no|prefix=c.&nbsp;}}
| {{nts|1500|format=no|prefix=c.&nbsp;}}
| style="font-size: 90%;" | Kraków was the capital of the [[Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)|Kingdom of Poland]], 1038–1596/1611. It adopted [[Magdeburg rights|Magdeburg town law]] and 5000 Poles and 3500 Germans lived within the city proper in the 15th century; Poles steadily rose in the ranks of guild memberships reaching 41% of guild members in 1500. It was very loosely associated with Hansa, and paid no membership fees, nor sent representatives to League meetings.
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Blumówna" />
* <ref name="Penguin" />
* <ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
* <ref name="Schäfer" />
* <ref>{{cite book |title=Alma Mater |issue=109 |year=2008 |publisher=[[Jagiellonian University]] |location=Kraków |page=6}}</ref>
* <ref name="Carter">{{cite book |first=Francis W. |last=Carter |title=Trade and urban development in Poland. An economic geography of Cracow, from its origins to 1795, Volume 20 |series=Cambridge studies in historical geography |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1994 |isbn=0-521-41239-0 |pages=70–71, 100–02}}</ref>
* <ref name="Jelicz">{{cite book |first=Antonina |last=Jelicz |title=Życie codzienne w średniowiecznym Krakowie: wiek XIII–XV |trans-title=Everyday life in medieval Krakow: 13th–15th century |publisher=Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy |year=1966}}</ref>
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Baltic
| {{sort|Breslau|[[File:Wrocław (Wernigeroder Wappenbuch).svg|left|25px|alt=]] Breslau, ([[Wrocław]])}}
| {{sort|Silesia|[[File:Blason Boheme.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Kingdom of Bohemia]]}}
| {{POL}}
| {{nts|1387|format=no}}
| {{nts|1474|format=no}}
| style="font-size: 90%;" | Breslau, a part of the [[Duchies of Silesia|Duchy of Breslau]] and the [[Kingdom of Bohemia]], was only loosely connected to the League and paid no membership fees nor did its representatives take part in Hansa meetings
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Penguin" />
* <ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
* <ref name="Schäfer" />
* <ref name="Gilewska-Dubis">{{cite book |first=Janina |last=Gilewska-Dubis |title=Życie codzienne mieszczan wrocławskich w dobie średniowiecza |trans-title=Everyday life of citizens of Wrocław during medieval times |publisher=[[Wydawnictwo Dolnośląskie]] |page=160 |year=2000}}</ref>
* <ref name="Buśko">{{cite book |first=Cezary |last=Buśko |author2=Włodzimierz Suleja |author3=Teresa Kulak |title=Historia Wrocławia: Od pradziejów do końca czasów habsburskich |trans-title=Wrocław History: From Prehistory to the end of the Habsburg era |publisher=[[Wydawnictwo Dolnośląskie]] |year=2001 |page=152}}</ref>
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Baltic
| {{sort|Culm|Culm ([[Chełmno]])}}
| {{sort|Teutonic Order|[[File:Den tyske ordens skjold.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[State of the Teutonic Order|Teutonic Order]]}}
| {{POL}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
<ref name="Falke" /><ref name="Dollinger2000 list" /><ref name="Schäfer" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Baltic
| {{sort|Konigsberg|[[File:Coat-of-Arms-of-Kaliningrad-of-Altstadt-(Koenigsberg).svg|left|25px|alt=]] {{Nowrap|[[Königsberg]]}} ([[Kaliningrad]])}}
| {{sort|Teutonic Order|[[File:Den tyske ordens skjold.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[State of the Teutonic Order|Teutonic Order]]}}
| {{RUS}}
| {{nts|1340|format=no}}
| 
| style="font-size: 90%;" | Königsberg was the capital of the [[State of the Teutonic Order|Teutonic Order]], it accepted the sovereignty of the [[Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)|Polish crown]] in 1466. It became [[Ducal Prussia]] in 1525 after secularisation, a German principality that was a fief of the Polish crown until gaining its independence in the 1660 [[Treaty of Oliva]]. The city was renamed [[Kaliningrad]] in 1946 after [[East Prussia]] was divided between the [[People's Republic of Poland]] and the [[Soviet Union]] at the [[Potsdam Conference]].
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Falke" />
* <ref name="Penguin" />
* <ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
* <ref name="Schäfer" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Baltic
| {{sort|Riga|[[File:Coa Riga.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Riga]]}}
| {{sort|Livonia|[[File:Coa Riga.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Archbishopric of Riga]]}}
| {{LVA}}
| {{nts|1282|format=no}}
| {{nts|1581|format=no}}
| style="font-size: 90%;" | [[Archbishopric of Riga|Archbishopric]] until 1561, Riga became a [[Free imperial city]] until the 1581 [[Treaty of Drohiczyn]] ceded the city to the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]].
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Falke" />
* <ref name="Penguin" />
* <ref name="Holborn" />{{rp|82}}
* <ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
* <ref name="Barthold" />
* <ref name="Schäfer" />
* <ref name="Turnbull">{{cite book |first=Stephen R |last=Turnbull |title=Crusader castles of the Teutonic Knights: The stone castles of Latvia and Estonia 1185–1560 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-84176-712-3 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=F3wzkSHR4j4C&pg=PA20 20], [https://books.google.com/books?id=F3wzkSHR4j4C&pg=PA60 60]}}</ref>{{rp|20}}
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Baltic
| {{sort|Reval|[[File:Coat of arms of Tallinn (small).svg|left|25px|alt=]] Reval ([[Tallinn]])}}
| {{sort|Livonia|[[File:Baltic coat of arms.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[State of the Teutonic Order|Teutonic Order]]}}
| {{EST}}
| {{nts|1285|format=no}}
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" | On joining the League, Reval was part the Kingdom of Denmark; it was sold in 1346 to the [[Teutonic Order]]. In 1561, the city became part of the Kingdom of Sweden.
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Mills" />
* <ref name="Falke" />
* <ref name="Keating" />{{rp|47}}
* <ref name="Penguin" />
* <ref name="Holborn" />{{rp|81}}
* <ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
* <ref name="Schäfer" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Baltic
| {{sort|Dorpat|[[File:Tartu coat of arms.svg|left|25px|alt=]] Dorpat ([[Tartu]])}}
| {{sort|Livonia|[[File:Tartu coat of arms.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Bishopric of Dorpat]]}}
| {{EST}}
| {{ntsh|1280}} 1280s
| {{nts|1558|format=no}}
| style="font-size: 90%;" | The [[Bishopric of Dorpat]] ceased to exist in 1558 when the city was captured by Russian troops during the [[Livonian war]].
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Mills" />
* <ref name="Falke" />
* <ref name="Penguin" />
* <ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
* <ref name="Schäfer" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Baltic
| {{sort|Fellin|[[File:Et-Viljandi coa.svg|left|25px|alt=]] Fellin ([[Viljandi]])}}
| {{sort|Livonia|[[File:Baltic coat of arms.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[State of the Teutonic Order|Teutonic Order]]}}
| {{EST}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
*<ref name="Mills" />
*<ref name="Schäfer" /><ref name="murray"/>
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Baltic
| {{sort|Pernau| Pernau ([[Pärnu]])}}
| {{sort|Livonia|[[File:Baltic coat of arms.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[State of the Teutonic Order|Teutonic Order]]}}
| {{EST}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
*<ref name="Mills" /><ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
*<ref name="Schäfer" /><ref name="Falke" />
*<ref name="murray"/>
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Baltic
| {{sort|Wenden| Wenden ([[Cēsis]])}}
| {{sort|Livonia|[[File:Baltic coat of arms.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[State of the Teutonic Order|Teutonic Order]]}}
| {{LVA}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
*<ref name="Mills" /><ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
*<ref name="Turnbull" />{{rp|60}}
*<ref name="Schäfer" /><ref name="murray">{{cite book
|first=Alan V.
|last =Murray
| title= The North-Eastern Frontiers of Medieval Europe: The Expansion of Latin Christendom in the Baltic Lands
|date =2017
| publisher=Taylor & Francis
|isbn=9781351884839
|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=KgokDwAAQBAJ}}</ref>
}} <!-- end plainlist -->

|- valign="top"
| Baltic
| {{sort|Kokenhusen| Kokenhusen ([[Koknese]])}}
| {{sort|Livonia|[[File:Baltic coat of arms.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[State of the Teutonic Order|Teutonic Order]]}}
| {{LVA}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
*<ref name="Mills" /><ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
*<ref name="Schäfer" /><ref name="Koknese">{{cite web |url=http://www.koknese.lv/?s=4&l=eng |title=History of Koknese |work=Koknese official website |date=10 January 2011 |access-date=15 May 2011 |archive-date=9 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209220953/http://www.koknese.lv/?s=4&l=eng |url-status=live }}</ref>
*<ref name="National Bank of Latvia">{{cite web |url=http://www.bank.lv/en/money/collector-coin-koknese |title=Collector Coin Koknese |work=[[National Bank of Latvia]] |access-date=15 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926211853/http://www.bank.lv/en/money/collector-coin-koknese |archive-date=26 September 2011 }}</ref><ref name="Könnecke">{{cite book |first=Jochen |last=Könnecke |author2=Vladislav Rubzov |title=Lettland |trans-title=Lithuania |publisher=DuMont Reiseverlag |year=2005 |isbn=978-3-7701-6386-1 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=QbUS1PUftXcC&pg=PA23 23], [https://books.google.com/books?id=QbUS1PUftXcC&pg=PA26 26–7], [https://books.google.com/books?id=QbUS1PUftXcC&pg=PA161 161]}}</ref>
*<ref name="murray"/>
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Baltic
| {{sort|Roop| Roop ([[Straupe]])}}
| {{sort|Livonia|[[File:Baltic coat of arms.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[State of the Teutonic Order|Teutonic Order]]}}
| {{LVA}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
*<ref name="Mills" /><ref name="murray"/>
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Baltic
| {{sort|Windau| Windau ([[Ventspils]])}}
| {{sort|Livonia|[[File:Baltic coat of arms.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[State of the Teutonic Order|Teutonic Order]]}}
| {{LVA}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
*<ref name="Mills" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Baltic
| {{sort|Lemsal| Lemsal ([[Limbaži]])}}
| {{sort|Livonia|[[File:Baltic coat of arms.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[State of the Teutonic Order|Teutonic Order]]}}
| {{LVA}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
*<ref name="Mills" /><ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
*<ref name="Schäfer" /><ref name="murray"/>
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Baltic
| {{sort|Wolmar| Wolmar ([[Valmiera]])}}
| {{sort|Livonia|[[File:Baltic coat of arms.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[State of the Teutonic Order|Teutonic Order]]}}
| {{LVA}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
*<ref name="Mills" /><ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
*<ref name="murray"/><ref name="Schäfer" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Baltic
| {{sort|Goldingen| Goldingen ([[Kuldīga]])}}
| {{sort|Livonia|[[File:Baltic coat of arms.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[State of the Teutonic Order|Teutonic Order]]}}
| {{LVA}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
*<ref name="Mills" /><ref name="murray"/>
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Westphalian
| {{sort|Cologne|[[File:DEU Koeln COA.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Cologne]]}}
| {{sort|Cologne|[[File:DEU Koeln COA.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Free Imperial City of Cologne|Imperial City of Cologne]]}}
| {{DEU}}
|
| {{nts|1669|format=no}}
| style="font-size: 90%;" | Main town of the Rhine-Westphalian and Netherlands Circle until after the [[Anglo-Hanseatic War]] (1470–74), when the city was prosecuted in 1475 with temporary trade sanctions ({{langx|de|link=no|Verhanst}}) for some years for having supported [[Kingdom of England|England]]; [[Dortmund]] was made main town of the Circle. Cologne also was called "Electorate of Cologne" (German: Kurfürstentum Köln or Kurköln). In June 1669 the last Hanseday was held in the town of Lübeck by the last remaining Hanse members, amongst others Cologne.
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Falke" />
* <ref name="Natkiel" />
* <ref name="Keating" />{{rp|120}}
* <ref name="Penguin" />
* <ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
* <ref name="Barthold" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Westphalian
| {{sort|Dortmund|[[File:Armoiries Saint-Empire monocéphale.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Dortmund]]}}
| {{sort|Dortmund|[[File:Armoiries Saint-Empire monocéphale.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Dortmund|Imperial City of Dortmund]]}}
| {{DEU}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" | After [[Cologne]] was excluded after the [[Anglo-Hanseatic War]] (1470–74), Dortmund was made the main town of the Rhine-Westphalian and Netherlands Circle.
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Falke" />
* <ref name="Penguin" />
* <ref name="Holborn" />{{rp|82}}
* <ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
* <ref name="Barthold" />
* <ref name="Schäfer" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Westphalian
| {{sort|Dinant|[[File:Blason_ville_be_Dinant_(Namur).svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Dinant]]}}
|
| {{BEL}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
*<ref name="Wubs-Mrozewicz2010"/>{{rp|page=101}}
*<ref name="Hammel-Kiesow"/>{{rp|page=9}}
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Westphalian
| {{sort|Deventer|[[File:Armoiries Saint-Empire monocéphale.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Deventer]]}}
| {{sort|Utrecht|[[File:Coat of Arms of the Bishopric of Utrecht.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht|Bishopric of Utrecht]]}}
| {{NLD}}
|
| {{nts|1500|format=no}}
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Falke" />
* <ref name="Penguin" />
* <ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
* <ref name="Barthold" />
* <ref name="Mehler JNA" />
* <ref name="Mehler EPOC" />
* <ref name="LP Netherlands">{{cite book |first=Ryan |last=ver Berkmoes |author2=Karla Zimmerman |title=The Netherlands |publisher=[[Lonely Planet]] |year=2010 |page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781741049251/page/255 &#91;https://books.google.com/books?id=MkAw1f_iSEwC&pg=PA255 255&#93;] |isbn=978-1-74104-925-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781741049251/page/255}}</ref>
* <ref name="McDonald">{{cite book |first=George |last=McDonald |title=Frommer's Belgium, Holland & Luxembourg, 11th Edition |isbn=978-0-470-38227-1 |publisher=[[Frommers]] |year=2009 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/frommersbelgiumh00geor/page/134] [https://books.google.com/books?id=pTZJUc-TP9MC&pg=PA134 134], [https://books.google.com/books?id=pTZJUc-TP9MC&pg=PA176 176], [https://books.google.com/books?id=pTZJUc-TP9MC&pg=PA397 397], [https://books.google.com/books?id=pTZJUc-TP9MC&pg=PA432 432–38] |url=https://archive.org/details/frommersbelgiumh00geor/page/134}}</ref>{{rp|438}}
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Westphalian
| {{sort|Nijmegen|[[File:Coat of arms of Nijmegen.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Nijmegen]]}}
| {{sort|Guelders|[[File:Guelders-Jülich Arms.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Duchy of Guelders|Jülich-Guelders]]}}
| {{NLD}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
*<ref name="Looper"/>{{rp|pages=115}}
*<ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
*<ref name="Barthold" />
*<ref name="Mehler JNA" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Westphalian
| {{sort|Kampen|[[File:Kampen (kleine wapen).svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Kampen, Overijssel|Kampen]]}}
| {{sort|Utrecht|[[File:Coat of Arms of the Bishopric of Utrecht.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht|Bishopric of Utrecht]]}}
| {{NLD}}
| {{nts|1441|format=no}}
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Falke" />
* <ref name="Penguin" />
* <ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
* <ref name="Barthold" />
* <ref name="LP Netherlands" />
* <ref name="McDonald" />{{rp|433}}
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Westphalian
| {{sort|Zwolle|[[File:Zwolle wapen HRvA.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Zwolle]]}}
| {{sort|Utrecht|[[File:Wappen Bistum Utrecht.png|left|25px|alt=]] [[Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht|Utrecht]]}}
| {{NLD}}
|1294
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
*<ref name="Looper"/>{{rp|pages=110, 112}}
*<ref name="Falke" /><ref name="Dollinger2000 list" /><ref name="LP Netherlands" />
*<ref name="McDonald" />{{rp|433, 439}}
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Westphalian
| {{sort|Groningen|[[File:Escudo de Groniga 1581.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Groningen (city)|Groningen]]}}
| {{sort|Friesland|[[File:Friesland (kleine wapen).svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Friesland]]}}
| {{NLD}}
|
|
|
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Falke" />
* <ref name="Penguin" />
* <ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
* <ref name="Mehler JNA" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Westphalian
| {{sort|Roermond|[[File:Coat of arms of Roermond.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Roermond]]}}
| {{sort|Guelders|[[File:Guelders-Jülich Arms.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Duchy of Guelders|Jülich-Guelders]]}}
| {{NLD}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Brand2010"/>{{rp|page=32}}
* <ref name="Looper" />{{rp|page=115}}
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Westphalian
| {{sort|Arnhem|[[File:Coat of arms of Arnhem.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Arnhem]]}}
| {{sort|Guelders|[[File:Guelders-Jülich Arms.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Duchy of Guelders|Jülich-Guelders]]}}
| {{NLD}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Brand2010"/>{{rp|page=32}}
* <ref name="McDonald" />{{rp|432}}
*<ref name="MW Geo">{{cite book |title=Merriam-Webster's geographical dictionary |author=Merriam-Webster, Inc |publisher=Merriam-Webster, Inc |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-87779-546-9 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/merriamwebstersg1998merr/page/74 &#91;https://books.google.com/books?id=Co_VIPIJerIC&pg=PA74 74–75&#93;] |url=https://archive.org/details/merriamwebstersg1998merr/page/74}}</ref>
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| 
| {{sort|Bolsward|[[File:Bolsward wapen.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Bolsward]]}}
| [[Frisian freedom|Frisia]]
| {{NLD}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Looper"/>{{rp|page=115}}
* <ref name="Barthold" /><ref name="Miruß">{{cite book |title=Das See-Recht und die Fluß-Schifffahrt nach den Preußischen Gesetzen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RXM7AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA17 |first=Alexander |last=Miruß |publisher=JC Hinrichsschen Buchhandlung |location=Leipzig |year=1838 |page=17 |access-date=2 May 2011}}</ref>
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| 
| {{sort|Stavoren|[[File:Stavoren wapen.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Stavoren]] (Starum)}}
| [[Frisian freedom|Frisia]]
| {{NLD}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
<ref name="McDonald" />{{rp|398}}
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Westphalian
| {{sort|Doesburg|[[File:Coat of arms of Doesburg.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Doesburg]]}}
| {{sort|Guelders|[[File:Guelders-Jülich Arms.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Duchy of Guelders|Jülich-Guelders]]}}
| {{NLD}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Looper"/>{{rp|pages=110, 112}}
* <ref name="LP Netherlands" />
*<ref name="McDonald" />{{rp|433}}
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Westphalian
| {{sort|Zutphen|[[File:Coat of arms of Zutphen.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Zutphen]]}}
| {{sort|Guelders|[[File:Guelders-Jülich Arms.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Duchy of Guelders|Jülich-Guelders]]}}
| {{NLD}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
*<ref name="Looper"/>{{rp|pages=110, 112}}
*<ref name="LP Netherlands" /><ref name="Falke" /><ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
*<ref name="McDonald" />{{rp|433}}<ref name="Barthold" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Westphalian
| {{sort|Harderwijk|[[File:Coat of arms of Harderwijk.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Harderwijk]]}}
| {{sort|Guelders|[[File:Guelders-Jülich Arms.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Duchy of Guelders|Jülich-Guelders]]}}
| {{NLD}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
<ref name="Looper"/>{{rp|pages=114–115}}
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Westphalian
| {{sort|Venlo|[[File:Coat of arms of Venlo.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Venlo]]}}
| {{sort|Guelders|[[File:Guelders-Jülich Arms.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Duchy of Guelders|Jülich-Guelders]]}}
| {{NLD}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
<ref name="Looper"/>{{rp|pages=115}}
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Westphalian
| {{sort|Hattem|[[File:Coat of arms of Hattem.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Hattem]]}}
| {{sort|Guelders|[[File:Guelders-Jülich Arms.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Duchy of Guelders|Jülich-Guelders]]}}
| {{NLD}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
*<ref name="Looper"/>{{rp|pages=112}}
*<ref name="LP Netherlands" />
*<ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Westphalian
| {{sort|Elburg|[[File:Coat of arms of Elburg.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Elburg]]}}
| {{sort|Guelders|[[File:Guelders-Jülich Arms.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Duchy of Guelders|Jülich-Guelders]]}}
| {{NLD}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
*<ref name="Looper"/>{{rp|pages=112}}
*<ref name="LP Netherlands" />
*<ref name="McDonald" />{{rp|433}}
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Westphalian
| {{sort|Ommen|[[File:Ommen wapen.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Ommen]]}}
| {{sort|Utrecht|[[File:Wappen Bistum Utrecht.png|left|25px|alt=]] [[Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht|Utrecht]]}}
| {{NLD}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
<ref name="Looper"/>{{rp|pages=115}}
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Westphalian
| {{sort|Tiel|[[File:Coat of arms of Tiel.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Tiel]]}}
| {{sort|Utrecht|[[File:Wappen Bistum Utrecht.png|left|25px|alt=]] [[Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht|Utrecht]]}}
| {{NLD}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
<ref name="Looper"/>{{rp|pages=115}}
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Westphalian
| {{sort|Hasselt|[[File:Hasselt (OV) wapen.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Hasselt, Overijssel|Hasselt]]}}
| {{sort|Utrecht|[[File:Wappen Bistum Utrecht.png|left|25px|alt=]] [[Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht|Utrecht]]}}
| {{NLD}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
*<ref name="Looper"/>{{rp|pages=115}}
*<ref name="Falke" />
*<ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
*<ref name="LP Netherlands" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Westphalian
| {{sort|Oldenzaal|[[File:Oldenzaal wapen.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Oldenzaal]]}}
| {{sort|Utrecht|[[File:Wappen Bistum Utrecht.png|left|25px|alt=]] [[Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht|Utrecht]]}}
| {{NLD}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
*<ref name="Looper"/>{{rp|pages=115}}
*<ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Westphalian
| {{sort|Zaltbommel|[[File:Coat of arms of Zaltbommel.svg|left|25px|alt=]] {{Nowrap|[[Zaltbommel]]}}}}
| {{sort|Guelders|[[File:Guelders-Jülich Arms.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Duchy of Guelders|Jülich-Guelders]]}}
| {{NLD}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
<ref name="Looper"/>{{rp|pages=115}}
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Westphalian
| {{sort|Munster|[[File:DEU Münster COA.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Münster]]}}
| {{sort|Munster|[[File:Lahr.PNG|left|25px|alt=]] [[Prince-Bishopric of Münster]]}}
| {{DEU}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Falke" />
* <ref name="Holborn" />{{rp|82}}
* <ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
* <ref name="Barthold" />
* <ref name="Schäfer" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Westphalian
| {{sort|Osnabruck|[[File:Osnabrück Wappen.svg|left|25px|alt=]] {{Nowrap|[[Osnabrück]]}}}}
| {{sort|Osnabruck|[[File:Wappen Bistum Osnabrück.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück]]}}
| {{DEU}}
| {{ntsh|1100}} 12th cent.
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Falke" />
* <ref name="Penguin" />
* <ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
* <ref name="Barthold" />
* <ref name="Schäfer" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Westphalian
| {{sort|Wesel|[[File:DEU Wesel COA.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Wesel]]}}
|
| {{DEU}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
<ref name="Dollinger2000 list" /><ref name="Barthold" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Westphalian
| {{sort|Soest|[[File:DEU Soest COA.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Soest, Germany|Soest]]}}
| {{sort|Soest|[[File:DEU Soest COA.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Soest, Germany|Imperial City of Soest]]}}
| {{DEU}}
|
| {{nts|1609|format=no}}
| style="font-size: 90%;" | The city was a part of the [[Electorate of Cologne]] until acquiring its freedom in 1444–49, after which it aligned with the [[Duchy of Cleves]].
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Falke" />
* <ref name="Penguin" />
* <ref name="Holborn" />{{rp|82}}
* <ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
* <ref name="Barthold" />
* <ref name="Schäfer" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Westphalian
| {{sort|Paderborn|[[File:DEU Paderborn COA.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Paderborn]]}}
|
| {{DEU}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
*<ref name="Falke" />
*<ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
*<ref name="Schäfer" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Westphalian
| {{sort|Lemgo|[[File:DEU Lemgo COA.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Lemgo]]}}
|
| {{DEU}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
*<ref name="Falke" />
*<ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
*<ref name="Barthold" />
*<ref name="Schäfer" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| Westphalian
| {{sort|Herford|[[File:Wappen von Herford.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Herford]]}}
|
| {{DEU}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
*<ref name="Holborn" />{{rp|82}}
*<ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
*<ref name="Barthold" />
*<ref name="Schäfer" />
*<ref name="Ward" />{{rp|391}}
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| 
| {{sort|Minden|[[File:Wappen-minden.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Minden]]}}
|
| {{DEU}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" |
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
*<ref name="Falke" /><ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
*<ref name="Barthold" /><ref name="Schäfer" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|}
{{hidden end}}

===''Kontore''===
The ''[[kontor]]e'' were the major foreign trading posts of the League, not cities that were Hanseatic members, and are listed in the hidden table below.

{{hidden begin
|title =  List of Hansa ''kontore''
|titlestyle = background:#F8F8FF;width:60%
}}
<!-- (GUIDANCE FOR EDITORS) ------------------------------------------------------------------- -->
<!-- TO ENSURE THAT THE 'REFS' COLUMN IS NARROW TO LEAVE ENOUGH WIDTH FOR THE 'NOTES' COLUMN,   -->
<!-- PLEASE KEEP REF TAGS LISTED VERTICALLY BY INSERTING THEM WITHIN A 'PLAINLIST' TEMPLATE:    -->                                            
<!--    {{plainlist|    ← start plainlist                                                       -->
<!--    * <ref name="first_ref" />                                                              -->
<!--    * ...                                                                                   -->
<!--    * <ref name="last_ref" />                                                               -->
<!--    }}              ← end plainlist                                                         -->
<!-- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --> 
{| class="sortable wikitable" style="width: 100%"
! style="width: 10%; " | Quarter
! style="width: 10%; " | City
! style="width: 10%; " | Territory
! style="width: 10%; " | Now
! style="width: 5%; "  | From
! style="width: 5%; "  | Until
! class="unsortable" style="width: 45%;" | Notes
! class="unsortable" style="width: 5%; " | {{ref heading}}
|- valign="top"
| ''Kontor''
| {{sort|Novgorod|[[File:Coat of Arms of Veliky Novgorod.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Veliky Novgorod|Novgorod]]: Peterhof}}
| {{sort|Novgorod|[[File:Nowogród.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Novgorod Republic]]}}
| {{RUS}}
|
| {{ntsh|1500}} 1500s
| style="font-size: 90%;" | Novgorod was one of the principal Kontore of the League and the easternmost. In 1494, [[Ivan III of Russia|Ivan III, Grand Prince of Moscow]], closed the Peterhof; it was reopened a few years later, but the League's Russian trade never recovered.
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Natkiel" />
* <ref name="Keating" />{{rp|47}}
* <ref name="Penguin" />
* <ref name="Holborn" />{{rp|26, 82}}
* <ref name="Mehler JNA" />
* <ref name="Mehler EPOC">{{cite journal |first=Natascha |last=Mehler |year=2011 |title=Hansefahrer im hohen Norden |journal=[[:de:epoc|epoc]] |issue=2 |pages=16–25, particularly 20 and 21 |url=http://histarch.univie.ac.at/fileadmin/user_upload/ag_histarch/PDF-Dateien/Mehler/Mehler_2011a.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724110900/http://histarch.univie.ac.at/fileadmin/user_upload/ag_histarch/PDF-Dateien/Mehler/Mehler_2011a.pdf |archive-date=24 July 2011 }}</ref>
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| ''Kontor''
| {{sort|Bergen|[[File:Bergen våpen.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Bergen]]: [[Bryggen]]}}
| {{sort|Norway|[[File:Blason Norvège.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Kingdom of Norway (872–1397)|Kingdom of Norway]]}}
| {{NOR}}
| {{nts|1360|format=no}}
| {{nts|1775|format=no}}
| style="font-size: 90%;" | Bryggen was one of the principal Kontore of the League. It was razed by accidental fire in 1476. In 1560, administration of Bryggen was placed under Norwegian administration.
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Natkiel" />
* <ref name="Penguin" />
* <ref name="Holborn" />{{rp|82}}
* <ref name="Mehler JNA" />
* <ref name="Mehler EPOC" />
* <ref name="1911:Hanseatic League">{{EB1911 |wstitle=Hanseatic League}}</ref>
* <ref name="Mehler Hansa">{{cite web |first=Natascha |last=Mehler |url=http://histarch.univie.ac.at/dr-natascha-mehler-ma/projects/hansa-the-hanseatic-expansion-in-the-north-atlantic/ |title=HANSA: The Hanseatic Expansion in the North Atlantic |date=April 2009 |publisher=University of Vienna |access-date=15 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140727145003/http://histarch.univie.ac.at/dr-natascha-mehler-ma/projects/hansa-the-hanseatic-expansion-in-the-north-atlantic/ |archive-date=27 July 2014 }}</ref>
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| ''Kontor''
| {{sort|Bruges|[[File:Blason de Bruges.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Bruges]]: Hanzekantoor}}
| {{sort|Flanders|[[File:Arms of Flanders.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[County of Flanders]]}}
| {{BEL}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" | Bruges was one of the principal Kontore of the League until the 15th century, when the seaway to the city silted up; trade from Antwerp benefiting from Bruges's loss.
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Keating" />{{rp|47}}
* <ref name="Penguin" />
* <ref name="Holborn" />{{rp|80}}
* <ref name="Mehler JNA" />
* <ref name="Mehler EPOC" />
* <ref name="McDonald" />{{rp|134, 176}}
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| ''Kontor''
| {{sort|London|[[File:Flag of the City of London.svg|border|left|25px|alt=]] London: [[Steelyard]]}}
| {{sort|England|[[File:Royal Arms of England (1198-1340).svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Kingdom of England]]}}
| {{GBR}}
| {{nts|1303|format=no}}
| {{nts|1853|format=no}}
| style="font-size: 90%;" | The Steelyard was one of the principal Kontore of the League. [[Edward I of England|King Edward I]] granted a ''[[Carta Mercatoria]]'' in 1303. The Steelyard was destroyed in 1469 and [[Edward IV of England|Edward IV]] exempted [[Cologne]] merchants, leading to the [[Anglo-Hanseatic War]] (1470–74). The [[Treaty of Utrecht (1474)|Treaty of Utrecht]], sealing the peace, led to the League purchasing the Steelyard outright in 1475, with Edward having renewed the League's privileges without insisting on reciprocal rights for English merchants in the Baltic. London merchants persuaded [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I]] to rescind the League's privileges on 13 January 1598; while the Steelyard was re-established by [[James VI and I|James I]], the advantage never returned. Consulates continued however, providing communication during the [[Napoleonic Wars]], and the Hanseatic interest was only sold in 1853.
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Dollinger2000 tensions" />
* <ref name="Keating" />{{rp|47}}
* <ref name="Penguin" />
* <ref name="Holborn" />{{rp|26, 80–82}}
* <ref name="Mehler JNA" />
* <ref name="Mehler EPOC" />
* <ref name="1911:Hanseatic League" />
* <ref name="Ward">{{cite book |last=Ward |first=Adolphus William |title=Collected Papers Historical, Literary, Travel and Miscellaneous |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZeU7AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA95 95], [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZeU7AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA391 391]}}</ref>{{rp|95}}
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| ''Kontor''
| {{sort|Antwerp|[[File:Blason Anvers.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Antwerp]]}}
| {{sort|Brabant|[[File:Royal Arms of Belgium.svg|left|25px|alt=]] [[Duchy of Brabant]]}}
| {{BEL}}
|
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" | Antwerp became a major Kontor of the League, particularly after the seaway to Bruges silted up in the 15th century, leading to its fortunes waning in Antwerp's favour, despite Antwerp's refusal to grant special privileges to the League's merchants. Between 1312 and 1406, Antwerp was a [[Margraviate of Antwerp|margraviate]], independent of Brabant.
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Penguin" />
* <ref name="Holborn" />{{rp|80}}
* <ref name="Mehler EPOC" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|}
{{hidden end}}

===''Vitten''===
The ''vitten'' were significant foreign trading posts of the League in Scania, not cities that were Hanseatic members, they are argued by some to have been similar in status to the ''kontors'',<ref name = "Burkhardt"/>{{rp|pages=157–158}} and are listed in the hidden table below.

{{hidden begin
|title =  List of Hansa ''vitten''
|titlestyle = background:#F8F8FF;width:60%
}}
<!-- (GUIDANCE FOR EDITORS) ------------------------------------------------------------------- -->
<!-- TO ENSURE THAT THE 'REFS' COLUMN IS NARROW TO LEAVE ENOUGH WIDTH FOR THE 'NOTES' COLUMN,   -->
<!-- PLEASE KEEP REF TAGS LISTED VERTICALLY BY INSERTING THEM WITHIN A 'PLAINLIST' TEMPLATE:    -->                                            
<!--    {{plainlist|    ← start plainlist                                                       -->
<!--    * <ref name="first_ref" />                                                              -->
<!--    * ...                                                                                   -->
<!--    * <ref name="last_ref" />                                                               -->
<!--    }}              ← end plainlist                                                         -->
<!-- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --> 
{| class="sortable wikitable" style="width: 100%"
! style="width: 10%; " | Quarter
! style="width: 10%; " | City
! style="width: 10%; " | Territory
! style="width: 10%; " | Now
! style="width: 5%; "  | From
! style="width: 5%; "  | Until
! class="unsortable" style="width: 45%;" | Notes
! class="unsortable" style="width: 5%; " | {{ref heading}}
|- valign="top"
| ''Vitte''
| {{sort|Malmo|[[File:POL województwo zachodniopomorskie COA.svg|left|25px|alt=]] {{Nowrap|[[Malmö]]}}}}
| {{sort|Denmark|[[File:National Coat of arms of Denmark no crown.svg|left|25px|alt=]] {{Nowrap|[[History of Denmark#Middle Ages|Kingdom of Denmark]]}}}}
| {{SWE}}
| {{ntsh|1400}} 15th cent.
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" | [[Skåne]] (Scania) was Danish until ceded to [[Swedish Empire|Sweden]] by the 1658 [[Treaty of Roskilde]], during the [[Second Northern War]].
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Penguin" />
* <ref name="Mehler EPOC" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|- valign="top"
| ''Vitte''
| {{sort|Falsterbo|[[File:Skanör med Falsterbo vapen.svg|left|25px|alt=]] {{Nowrap|[[Falsterbo]]}}}}
| {{sort|Denmark|[[File:National Coat of arms of Denmark no crown.svg|left|25px|alt=]] {{Nowrap|[[History of Denmark#Middle Ages|Kingdom of Denmark]]}}}}
| {{SWE}}
| {{ntsh|1400}} 15th cent.
|
| style="font-size: 90%;" | [[Skåne]] was Danish until ceded to [[Swedish Empire|Sweden]] by the 1658 [[Treaty of Roskilde]], during the [[Second Northern War]].
|{{plainlist| <!-- start plainlist -->
* <ref name="Penguin" />
* <ref name="Mehler EPOC" />
}} <!-- end plainlist -->
|}
{{hidden end}}

=== Ports with Hansa trading posts ===
{{hidden begin
|title =  List of ports with Hansa trading posts
|titlestyle = background:#F8F8FF;width:60%
}} 
[[File:Hanseatic Warehouse King's Lynn.JPG|thumb|The [[Buildings in King's Lynn#Hanseatic Warehouse|Hanseatic Warehouse]] in [[King's Lynn]] is the only surviving League building in England.]]
* [[Åhus]]<ref name = "Burkhardt"/>{{rp|page=159}}
* [[Berwick-upon-Tweed]]
* Bishop's Lynn ([[King's Lynn]])<ref name="Penguin" /><ref name="Mehler EPOC" /><ref name="Ward" />{{rp|95}}<ref name = "Burkhardt"/>{{rp|page=158}}<ref>{{Cite journal |jstor=2010354|title=Trade Wars: A Comparative Study of Anglo-Hanse, Franco-Italian, and Hawley-Smoot Conflicts|journal=World Politics|volume=38|issue=1|pages=147–172|last1=Conybeare|first1=John|year=1985|doi=10.2307/2010354|s2cid=154401136 }}</ref>
* [[Boston, Lincolnshire|Boston]]<ref name="Penguin" /><ref name="Mehler JNA" /><ref name="Mehler EPOC" /><ref name="Ward" />{{rp|95}}<ref name = "Burkhardt"/>{{rp|page=158}}
* [[Bordeaux]]<ref name="Mehler EPOC" /><ref name = "Burkhardt"/>{{rp|page=159}}
* [[Bourgneuf, Charente-Maritime|Bourgneuf]]<ref name = "Burkhardt"/>{{rp|page=159}}
* [[Bristol]]<ref name="Penguin" />
* [[Copenhagen]]<ref name = "Burkhardt"/>{{rp|page=159}}
* [[Damme]]<ref name="Penguin" />
* [[Frankfurt]]<ref name = "Burkhardt"/>{{rp|page=160}}
* [[Ghent]]<ref name = "Burkhardt"/>{{rp|page=159}}
* [[Kingston upon Hull|Hull]] (Kingston upon Hull)<ref name="Penguin" /><ref name="Mehler EPOC" />
* [[Ipswich]]<ref name="Penguin" /><ref name="Mehler EPOC" /><ref name="Grimwade">{{cite book |last1=Grimwade |first1=Patricia |title=Ipswich: A Hanseatic Port |date=2019 |publisher=Ipswich Maritime Trust |location=Ipswich}}</ref><ref name = "Burkhardt"/>{{rp|page=158}}
* [[Kalundborg]]<ref name = "Burkhardt"/>{{rp|page=159}}
* [[Kaunas]]<ref name = "Burkhardt"/>{{rp|page=159}}<ref name="Mills" /><ref name="Penguin" /><ref name="Mehler EPOC" />
* [[Landskrona]]<ref name = "Burkhardt"/>{{rp|page=159}}
* [[La Rochelle]]<ref name = "Burkhardt"/>{{rp|page=159}}
* [[Leith]]<ref name="Penguin" /><ref name="Mehler EPOC" /> <!-- credited as Edinburgh in the references -->
* [[Lisbon]]<ref name="Pohle">{{cite web |first=Jürgen |last=Pohle |url=http://repositorio-cientifico.uatlantica.pt/jspui/bitstream/10884/615/1/RepC%20-%20Comunica%C3%A7%C3%A3o%20%C2%ABO%20estabelecimento%20dos%20mercadores-banqueiros%20alem%C3%A3es%C2%BB.pdf |title=O estabelecimento dos mercadores-banqueiros alemães em Lisboa no início do século XVI |publisher=Universidade Atlântica (Lisbon) |date=December 2010 |access-date=28 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160113112709/http://repositorio-cientifico.uatlantica.pt/jspui/bitstream/10884/615/1/RepC%20-%20Comunica%C3%A7%C3%A3o%20%C2%ABO%20estabelecimento%20dos%20mercadores-banqueiros%20alem%C3%A3es%C2%BB.pdf |archive-date=13 January 2016 }}</ref><ref name = "Burkhardt"/>{{rp|page=159}}
* [[Nantes]]<ref name="Mehler EPOC" /><ref name = "Burkhardt"/>{{rp|page=159}}
* [[Narva]]<ref name="Mills" /><ref name="Mehler EPOC" />
* [[Næstved]]<ref name = "Burkhardt"/>{{rp|page=159}}
* [[Newcastle upon Tyne|Newcastle]]<ref name="Penguin" /><ref name="Mehler EPOC" /><ref name = "Burkhardt"/>{{rp|page=158}}
* [[Norwich]]<ref name = "Burkhardt"/>{{rp|page=158}}
* [[Nuremberg]]<ref name = "Burkhardt"/>{{rp|page=160}}
* [[Oslo]]<ref name = "Burkhardt"/>{{rp|page=159}}
* [[Pskov]]<ref name = "Burkhardt"/>{{rp|pages=159–160}}<ref name="Penguin" /><ref name="Mehler EPOC" />
* [[Polotsk]]<ref name="Penguin" /><ref name="Mehler EPOC" /><ref name = "Burkhardt"/>{{rp|page=159}}
* [[Rønne]]<ref name = "Burkhardt"/>{{rp|page=159}}
* [[Scarborough, North Yorkshire|Scarborough]]<ref name = "Burkhardt"/>{{rp|page=158}}
* Yarmouth ([[Great Yarmouth]])<ref name="Penguin" /><ref name="Mehler EPOC" /><ref name = "Burkhardt"/>{{rp|page=158}}
* [[Sluis]]<ref name = "Burkhardt"/>{{rp|page=159}}
* [[Smolensk]]<ref name = "Burkhardt"/>{{rp|page=159}}
* [[Tønsberg]]<ref name = "Burkhardt"/>{{rp|page=159}}
* [[Venice]]<ref name = "Burkhardt"/>{{rp|page=160}}
* [[Vilnius]]<ref name="Mills" /><ref name="Mehler EPOC" /><ref name = "Burkhardt"/>{{rp|page=159}}
* [[Vitebsk]]<ref name = "Burkhardt"/>{{rp|page=159}}
* [[York]]<ref name="Penguin" /><ref name="Mehler EPOC" />
* [[Ystad]]<ref name = "Burkhardt"/>{{rp|page=159}}
{{hidden end}}

=== Other cities with a Hansa community ===
{{hidden begin|title=Other cities with a Hansa community|titlestyle=background:#F8F8FF;width:60%}} 
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Aberdeen]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://aberdeencivicsociety.org.uk/whats-new/the-old-burghs-of-aberdeen/ |title=The Old Burghs Of Aberdeen |access-date=1 May 2011 |first=Alex |last=Mitchell |work=Aberdeen Civic Society |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812021945/http://aberdeencivicsociety.org.uk/whats-new/the-old-burghs-of-aberdeen/ |archive-date=12 August 2011 }}</ref>
* Åbo ([[Turku]])<ref name="Mehler EPOC" />
* [[Avaldsnes]]<ref name="Mehler JNA" /><ref name="Mehler Hansa" />
* [[Brae, Shetland|Brae]]<ref name="Mehler EPOC" />
* [[Grindavík]]<ref name="Mehler EPOC" />
* [[Grundarfjörður]]<ref name="Mehler EPOC" />
* [[Gunnister]]<ref name="Mehler EPOC" /><ref name="Mehler Hansa" /><ref name="Gardiner and Mehler">{{cite journal |first=Mark |last=Gardiner |author2=Natascha Mehler |year=2010 |title=The Hanseatic trading site at Gunnister Voe, Shetland |journal=Post-Medieval Archaeology |volume=44 |issue=2 |pages=347–49 |url=http://histarch.univie.ac.at/fileadmin/user_upload/ag_histarch/PDF-Dateien/Mehler/Gardiner_Mehler_2010.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724111015/http://histarch.univie.ac.at/fileadmin/user_upload/ag_histarch/PDF-Dateien/Mehler/Gardiner_Mehler_2010.pdf |archive-date=24 July 2011 }}</ref>
* [[Hafnarfjörður]]<ref name="Mehler JNA" /><ref name="Mehler EPOC" /><ref name="Kristín Bjarnadóttir">{{citation |first=Kristín |last=Bjarnadóttir |title=Mathematical Education in Iceland in Historical Context |publisher=[[Roskilde University]] |year=2006 |ref=p.52 |url=http://diggy.ruc.dk:8080/retrieve/9181/license.txt |format=PDF |access-date=2 May 2011 |archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20160524004631/http%3A//diggy.ruc.dk%3A8080/retrieve/9181/license.txt |archive-date=24 May 2016 }}</ref>
* [[Harlingen, Friesland|Harlingen]]{{citation needed|date=May 2011}}
* [[Haroldswick]]<ref name="Mehler EPOC" />
* [[Hildesheim]]<ref name="Falke" /><ref name="Barthold" /><ref name="Schäfer" />
* [[Hindeloopen]] (Hylpen)<ref name="McDonald" />{{rp|397}}<ref name="Wild">{{cite book |first=Albert |last=Wild |title=Die Niederlande: ihre Vergangenheit und Gegenwart, Volume 2 |trans-title=The Netherlands: its past and present, Volume 2 |publisher=Wigand |year=1862 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZaA6AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA250 250]}}</ref>
* [[Kalmar]]<ref name="Dollinger2000 list" /><ref name="Dollinger2000 Kalmar">{{cite book |title=The German Hansa |last=Dollinger |first=Philippe |year=2000 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-19073-2 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=UOlQuaYvBu8C&pg=PA128 128], [https://books.google.com/books?id=UOlQuaYvBu8C&pg=PA352 352]}}</ref>
* [[Krambatangi]]<ref name="Mehler JNA" /><ref name="Mehler Hansa" />
* [[Snæfellsnes|Kumbaravogur]]<ref name="Mehler Late MA">{{cite web |first=Natascha |last=Mehler |url=http://histarch.univie.ac.at/dr-natascha-mehler-ma/projekte/oitis-the-operation-of-international-trade-in-iceland-and-shetland-ca-1400-1700/ |title=The Operation of International Trade in Iceland and Shetland (c. 1400–1700) |publisher=[[University of Vienna]] |date=October 2010 |access-date=15 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724111055/http://histarch.univie.ac.at/dr-natascha-mehler-ma/projekte/oitis-the-operation-of-international-trade-in-iceland-and-shetland-ca-1400-1700/ |archive-date=24 July 2011 }}</ref>
* [[Livorno|Leghorn]]<ref name="Walford">{{cite journal
|first = Cornelius
|last = Walford
|title = An Outline History of the Hanseatic League, More Particularly in Its Bearings upon English Commerce
|journal = Transactions of the Royal Historical Society
|volume = 9
|pages = 82–136
|quote = The following cities were also connected with the League, but did not have representation in the Diet, nor responsibility: (...) Leghorn, Lisbon, London, Marseilles, Messina, Naples (...)
|jstor = 3677937
|year = 1881
|doi = 10.2307/3677937
|s2cid = 155018451
|url = https://zenodo.org/record/2491599
|archive-date = 17 February 2020
|access-date = 10 January 2020
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200217104437/https://zenodo.org/record/2491599
|url-status = live
}}</ref>{{rp|98}}
* [[Lunna Ness|Lunna Wick]]<ref name="Mehler EPOC" />
* [[Messina]]<ref name="Cultus.hk">{{Cite web|url=http://www.cultus.hk/hist/readingsBaltic/History%20of%20the%20Hanseatic%20League.pdf|title=Cultus.hk|access-date=15 January 2016|archive-date=8 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208160158/http://www.cultus.hk/hist/readingsBaltic/History%20of%20the%20Hanseatic%20League.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Naples]]<ref name="Cultus.hk" />
* [[Nordhausen, Thuringia|Nordhausen]]<ref name="Falke" /><ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
* [[Nyborg]]<ref name="Mehler EPOC" />
* [[Nyköping]]<ref name="Dollinger2000 list" />
* [[Scalloway]]
* [[Stockholm]]<ref name="Penguin" /><ref name="Dollinger2000 list" /><ref name = "Burkhardt"/>{{rp|page=160}}
* [[Tórshavn]]<ref name="Mehler JNA" /><ref name="Mehler EPOC" />
* [[Trondheim]]<ref name="Mehler Hansa" />
* [[Tver]]
* Walk ([[Valka]])<ref name="Mills" />
* Weißenstein ([[Paide]])<ref name="Mills" />
* Wesenberg ([[Rakvere]])<ref name="Mills" />
{{div col end}}
{{hidden end}}

==Legacy==

=== Historiography ===
[[File:Europäisches Hansemuseum 2015.jpg|thumb|right|The [[European Hansemuseum]] in Lübeck]]
Academic historiography of the Hanseatic League is considered to begin with Georg Sartorius, who started writing his first work in 1795 and founded the liberal historiographical tradition about the League. The German conservative nationalist historiographical tradition was first published with F.W. Barthold's ''Geschichte der Deutschen Hansa'' of 1853/1854. The conservative view was associated with [[German question|Little German]] ideology and came to predominate from the 1850s until the end of the [[First World War]]. Hanseatic history was used to justify a stronger German navy and conservative historians drew a link between the League and the rise of Prussia as the leading German state. This climate deeply influenced the historiography of the Baltic trade.<ref name="Hammel-Kiesow3"/>{{rp|pages=192–194}}<ref name="Jahnke2015"/>{{rp|pages=203–204}}

Issues of social, cultural and economic history became more important in German research after the First World War. But leading historian Fritz Rörig also promoted a [[Nazism|National Socialist]] perspective. After the [[Second World War]] the conservative nationalist view was discarded, allowing exchanges between German, Swedish and Norwegian historians on the Hanseatic League's role in Sweden and Norway. Views on the League were strongly negative in the Scandinavian countries, especially Denmark, because of associations with German privilege and supremacy.<ref>{{cite book
 |last= Hill
 |first= Thomas
 |editor-first= Antjekathrin
 |editor-last= Graßmann
 |date= 2001
 |title= Ausklang und Nachklang der Hanse im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert
 |chapter= Vom öffentlichen Gebrauch der Hansegeschichte und hanseforschung im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert
 |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=tB9oAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA67
 |pages= 67–88
 |language= German
 |series= Hansische Studien
 |volume= XII
 |location= Trier
 |publisher= Porta Alba Verlag
 |isbn= 3-933701-02-3
 |archive-date= 2 December 2024
 |access-date= 5 January 2025
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20241202172511/https://books.google.com/books?id=tB9oAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA67
 |url-status= live
 }}</ref>{{rp|pages=68–69, 74}} [[Philippe Dollinger]]'s book ''The German Hansa'' became the standard work in the 1960s. At that time, the dominant perspective became Ahasver von Brandt's view of a loosely aligned trading network. Marxist historians in the GDR were split on whether the League was a "late feudal" or "proto-capitalist" phenomenon.<ref name="Hammel-Kiesow3"/>{{rp|pages=197–200}}

Two museums in Europe are dedicated to the history of the Hanseatic League: the [[European Hansemuseum]] in Lübeck and the [[Hanseatic Museum and Schøtstuene]] in Bergen.

=== Popular views ===
From the 19th century, Hanseatic history was often used to promote a national cause in Germany. German liberals built a fictional literature around Jürgen Wullenwever, expressing fierce anti-Danish sentiment. Hanseatic subjects were used to propagate nation building, colonialism, fleet building and warfare, and the League was presented as a bringer of culture and pioneer of German expansion.<ref name="Hammel-Kiesow3"/>{{rp|pages=195–196}}

The preoccupation with a strong navy motivated German painters in the 19th century to paint supposedly Hanseatic ships. They used the traditions of maritime paintings and, not wanting Hanseatic ships to look unimpressive, ignored historical evidence to fictionalise cogs into tall two- or three-masted ships. The depictions were widely reproduced, such as on plates of [[Norddeutscher Lloyd]]. This misleading artistic tradition influenced public perception throughout the 20th century.<ref name="Hammel-Kiesow3"/>{{rp|pages=196–197}}

In the late 19th century, a social-critical view developed, where opponents of the League like the ''likedeelers'' were presented as heroes and liberators from economic oppression. This was popular from the end of the First World War into the 1930s, and survives in the [[Störtebeker Festival]] on [[Rügen]], founded as the Rügenfestspiele by the GDR.<ref name="Hammel-Kiesow3"/>{{rp|pages=196}}

From the late 1970s, the Europeanness and cooperation of the Hanseatic League came to prominence in popular culture. It is associated with innovation, entrepreneurism and internationalness in economic circles.<ref name="Hammel-Kiesow3"/>{{rp|pages=199–203}} In this way it often used for tourism, city branding and commercial marketing.<ref name="Looper"/>{{rp|page=109}} The League's unique governance structure has been identified as a precursor to the [[Supranational union|supranational model]] of the [[European Union]].<ref>{{Cite web
 |last= Morris
 |first= Chris
 |title= Hanseatic League {{!}} The first European Union?
 |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/extra/A2MFANtn3Z/hanseatic_league
 |website= BBC News
 |access-date= 18 June 2021
 |archive-date= 21 April 2021
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210421143759/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/extra/A2MFANtn3Z/hanseatic_league
 |url-status= live
 }}</ref>

=== Modern transnational organisations named after the Hanseatic League ===
==== Union of Cities THE HANSA ====
[[File:Hanse Bund.jpg|thumb|{{center|German language logo}}]]
In 1979, [[Zwolle]] invited over 40 cities from [[West Germany]], the Netherlands, Sweden and Norway with historic links to the Hanseatic League to sign the recesses of 1669, at Zwolle's 750 year city rights' anniversary in August of the next year.<ref>{{cite news
 |last= Lelsz
 |first= Jac.
 |date= 22 December 1979
 |title= Hanze-reünie in feestvierend Zwolle
 |trans-title= Hanseatic reunion in celebrating Zwolle
 |language= Dutch
 |url= https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=ABCDDD:010825142:mpeg21:p017
 |work= Trouw
 |access-date= 30 January 2023
}}</ref> In 1980, those cities established a "new Hanse" in Zwolle, named ''Städtebund Die Hanse'' (Union of Cities THE HANSA) in German and reinstituted the Hanseatic diets. This league is open to all former Hanseatic League members and cities that share a Hanseatic heritage.<ref name="New Hanse">{{cite web 
 |url= http://www.hanse.org/en/the_hansa/
 |title= City League The HANSE
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100817192442/http://www.hanse.org/en/the_hansa
 |archive-date= 17 August 2010
}}</ref>

In 2012, the city league had 187 members. This included twelve Russian cities, most notably [[Novgorod]], and 21 Polish cities. No Danish cities had joined the Union although several qualify.<ref name="Hammel-Kiesow3"/>{{rp|pages=199–200}} The "new Hanse" fosters business links, tourism and cultural exchange.<ref name="New Hanse"/>

The headquarters of the New Hansa is in [[Lübeck]], Germany.<ref name="New Hanse" />

Dutch cities including [[Groningen]], [[Deventer]], [[Kampen (Overijssel)|Kampen]], [[Zutphen]] and [[Zwolle]], and a number of German cities including [[Bremen]], [[Buxtehude]], [[Demmin]], [[Greifswald]], Hamburg, [[Lübeck]], [[Lüneburg]], [[Rostock]], [[Salzwedel]], [[Stade]], [[Stendal]], [[Stralsund]], [[Uelzen]] and [[Wismar]] now call themselves ''Hanse'' cities (the German cities' car license plates are prefixed ''H'', e.g. –''HB''– for "Hansestadt Bremen").

Each year one of the member cities of the New Hansa hosts the [[Hanseatic Days of New Time]] international festival.

In 2006, [[King's Lynn]] became the first English member of the union of cities.<ref name="West Norfolk">{{cite web
 |url= http://www.west-norfolk.gov.uk/Default.aspx?page=24618
 |title= King's Lynn Hanse Festival 2009
 |work= [[King's Lynn and West Norfolk|Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk]]
 |access-date= 23 August 2010
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100513014127/http://www.west-norfolk.gov.uk/Default.aspx?page=24618
 |archive-date= 13 May 2010
}}</ref> It was joined by [[Kingston upon Hull|Hull]] in 2012 and [[Boston, Lincolnshire|Boston]] in 2016.<ref name="Richards2017">{{cite book
 |last= Richards
 |first= Paul
 |date= 2017
 |title= Six Essays in Hanseatic History
 |chapter= Introduction
 |publisher= Poppyland Publishing 
 |location= Cromer
 |isbn= 978-1-909796-33-1
}}</ref>

==== New Hanseatic League ====
In February 2018, a new small group of EU countries formed a monetary and economic working group called the [[New Hanseatic League]]. Finance ministers from [[Denmark]], [[Estonia]], [[Finland]], Ireland, [[Latvia]], [[Lithuania]], the [[Netherlands]] and Sweden signed its foundational document which set out the countries' "shared views and values in the discussion on the architecture of the [[Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union|EMU]]".<ref name="Suutre2018">{{cite web
 |last= Suutre
 |first= Siiri
 |date= 6 March 2018
 |title= Shared views and values on the architecture of the EMU
 |at= (PDF at "Read more here")
 |publisher= Estonian Ministry of Finance
 |url= https://www.rahandusministeerium.ee/en/news/shared-views-and-values-architecture-emu
 |website= rahandusministeerium.ee
 |access-date= 1 October 2021
 |archive-date= 1 October 2021
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211001171133/https://www.rahandusministeerium.ee/en/news/shared-views-and-values-architecture-emu
 |url-status= live
 }}</ref>

=== Others ===
The legacy of the Hansa is reflected in several names: the German airline [[Lufthansa]] (lit. "Air Hansa"); [[F.C. Hansa Rostock]], nickamed the [[Cog (ship)|Kogge]] or Hansa-Kogge; [[Hansa-Park]], one of the biggest theme parks in Germany; [[Hanze University of Applied Sciences]] in [[Groningen]], [[Netherlands]]; Hanze oil production platform, Netherlands; the [[Hansa Brewery]] in Bergen and the [[Hanse Sail]] in Rostock; [[Hanseatic Trade Center]] in Hamburg; [[DDG Hansa]], which was a major German shipping company from 1881 until its bankruptcy and takeover by [[Hapag-Lloyd]] in 1980; the district of New Hanza City in [[Riga]], [[Latvia]]; and [[Hansabank]] in Estonia, which was rebranded as [[Swedbank]].

== Historical maps ==
<gallery perrow="5">
File:First.Crusade.Map.jpg|Europe in 1097
File:Europe in 1430.PNG|Europe in 1430
File:Europe in 1470.png|Europe in 1470
File:Carta Marina.jpeg|{{lang|la|[[Carta marina]]}} of the [[Baltic Sea]] region (1539)
</gallery>

== In popular culture ==
* In the ''[[The Patrician (video game)|Patrician]]'' series of trading simulation video games, the player assumes the role of a merchant in any of several cities of the Hanseatic League.<ref>{{Cite magazine
 |last= Bett
 |first= Richard
 |date= 22 January 2011
 |title= Patrician IV Review
 |url= https://www.pcgamer.com/patrician-iv-review/
 |access-date= 18 October 2020
 |magazine= PC Gamer
 |language= en-US
 |archive-date= 23 October 2020
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201023063828/https://www.pcgamer.com/patrician-iv-review/
 |url-status= live
 }}</ref>
* In the ''[[The Saga of Seven Suns|Saga of Seven Suns]]'' series of [[space opera]] novels by American writer [[Kevin J. Anderson]], the human race has colonized multiple planets in the Spiral Arm, most of which are governed by the powerful Terran Hanseatic League (Hansa).<ref name="PW Hidden Empire">{{cite web
 |url= http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-446-52862-7
 |title= Fiction Book Review: ''Hidden Empire: The Saga of Seven Suns'' Book 1
 |date= 1 July 2002
 |access-date= 21 November 2013
 |website= [[Publishers Weekly]]
 |archive-date= 3 December 2013
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131203000959/http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-446-52862-7
 |url-status= live
 }}</ref>
* ''[[Hansa Teutonica]]'' is a [[German style board game|German board game]] designed by Andreas Steding and published by Argentum Verlag in 2009.
* In the ''[[Metro (franchise)|Metro franchise]]'' of [[Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction|post-apocalyptic]] novels and video games, a trading alliance of stations called The Commonwealth of the Stations of the Ring Line is also known as the Hanseatic League, usually shortened to Hansa or Hanza.

== See also ==
{{portal|Oceans|Transport}}
* [[Baltic maritime trade (c. 1400–1800)]]
* [[Bay Fleet]]
* [[Brick Gothic]]
* [[Company of Merchant Adventurers of London]]
* [[Dithmarschen]]
* [[Hanseatic Cross]]
* [[Hanseatic Days of New Time]]
* [[Hanseatic flags]]
* [[Hanseatic Museum and Schøtstuene]]
* [[Hildebrand Veckinchusen]]
* [[History of Bremen (city)|History of Bremen (City)]]
* [[Maritime republics]]
* [[Peasant republic|Peasants' Republic]]
* [[Schiffskinder]]
* [[Thalassocracy]]

==Explanatory footnotes==
<!-- Do NOT imbed {{sfn}} templates within {{notelist}} prose, as they break references; instead, use {{harv}} templates without <ref>...</ref> and before punctuation. -->
{{notelist |refs=
{{efn|name=kracht
|{{lang|nl|Een opvalled euvel betrof de gewoonte dat gezanten, die voor hen nadelige afspraken niet konden accepteren, vroegtijdig de Hanzedag verlieten. Op deze wijze hoopten zij niet in de notulen, de zogenaamde Hanzerecessen, te worden opgenomen. Het verschafte de stadsbesturen vervolgens de mogelijkheid de daarin opgenomen besluiten niet te ratificeren. [...] Opvallend is dat de Hanzedag, en ook Lübeck en de Wendische steden, niet in staat waren dit fenomeen te sanctioneren en zelfs een gedoogpolitiek ontstond. Terwijl veel historici hierin een essentiële zwakte van de Hanze zien, vat Pichierri dit op als een teken van flexibiliteit. [...] Al met al zijn dit enkele kenmerken van een organisatiestructuur die bij sociologen als een netwerk met losse bindingen te boek staat. De verbindingen tussen de verschillende leden van een dergelijke netwerk waren niet star noch daadwerkelijk verplichtend. [...] Het gebrek aan duurzame samenhand vloeide voort uit de grote autonomie van de steden zoals deze besloten lag in het zogenaamde Einungsrecht. [...] Juist doordat de Hanzevergadering vast bleef houden aan het uitgangspunt dat de gemeenschappelijke wil van alle steden afzonderlijk gerespecteerd moest worden, kon een besluit alleen op grond van algemene instemming genomen worden. [...] Volgens de principes van het Einungsrecht was echter geen enkele stad gedwongen zich aan de wil of aan de besluiten van een woordvoerder, in dit geval de Algemene Hanzedag, te onderwerpen. Aan het einde van de besluitvormingsketen was de instemming van de stedelijke gemeenschap doorslaggevend, ongeacht wat er op hogere niveaus was afgesproken. Het kwam derhalve zeer regelmatig voor dat besluiten die raadszendbode vanuit een minderheidspositie stilzwijgend moesten aanvaarden, achteraf door hun stadsbesturen werden afgewezen.}}

A notable shortcoming concerned the custom that envoys, who could not accept arrangements that were disadvantageous for them, left the Hanseatic Day prematurely. In this way they hoped not to be included in the minutes, the so-called Hanseatic recesses. It then provided the city authorities with the option of not ratifying the decrees contained therein. [...] It is striking that the Hanseatic Day, and also Lübeck and the Wendish cities, were unable to sanction this phenomenon and even a policy of condoning arose. While many historians see this as an essential weakness of the Hanseatic League, Pichierri sees this as a sign of flexibility. [...] All in all, these are some characteristics of an organizational structure that sociologists regard as a network with loose connections. The connections between the various members of such a network were neither rigid nor actually binding. [...] The lack of sustainable cohesion arose from the great autonomy of the cities as it was implied in the so-called Einungsrecht. [...] Precisely because the Hanseatic Assembly continued to adhere to the principle that the common will of all individual cities had to be respected, a decision could only be taken on the basis of general consent. [...] According to the principles of Einungsrecht, however, no city was forced to submit to the will or to the decisions of a spokesman, in this case the General Hansedag. At the end of the decision-making chain, the agreement of the urban community was decisive, regardless of what was agreed at higher levels. It therefore happened very regularly that decisions that council messengers had to accept tacitly from a minority position were subsequently rejected by their city councils {{harv|Brand|Egge|2010|pp=36–39}}.
}}
{{efn|name=kantq1
|{{lang|nl|Door de Kantoren werden er duurzame relaties met de machthebbers ter plaatse opgebouwd. Daaarnaast waren ze ook een onmisbare bron van informatie voor de Hanzesteden over de lokale politiek en handel. Bovendien waren de Kantoren plaatsen waar er controle was op de kwaliteit van goederen in de hanzeatische handel. Dit bevorderde de efficiëntie van deze handel. [...] Het midden van de veertiende eeuw wordt voor Brugge en Bergen als scharnierpunt in het ontstaan van de Kantoren gezien omdat ze toen een vastere organisatie en duidelijke regelgeving kregen. [...] Niettemin waren de Kantoren, in tegenstelling tot de Hanze als geheel, wel degelijk rechtsperonen. Als gevolg daarvan voerden ze eigen zegels, hadden ze een eigen administratie, een gemeenschappelijke kas en de machtsmiddelen om het correct naleven van de regels af te dwingen.}}

The Kontors built lasting relationships with local ruler. In addition, they were also an indispensable source of information for the Hanseatic cities about local politics and trade. Moreover, the Kontors were places where the quality of goods in the Hanseatic trade was monitored. This promoted the efficiency of this trade. [...] The middle of the fourteenth century is seen as a pivotal point in the emergence of the Kontors for Bruges and Bergen, because they were then given a more permanent organization and clear regulations. [...] Nevertheless, unlike the Hanseatic League as a whole, the Kontors were indeed legal persons. As a result, they had their own seals, had their own administration, a common treasury and the means to enforce proper compliance with the rules {{harv|Wubs-Mrozewicz|2010|p=91}}.
}} 
{{efn|name=kantq2
|{{lang|nl|Rond dezelfde tijd werden ook alle nederzettingen formeel ondergeschikt aan de beslissingen van de Hanzedag. Hun vertegenwoordigers hadden sindsdien het recht om de Hanzevergaderingen bij te wonen en voor de belangen van de Kantoren en hun kooplieden te pleiten. Ze hadden er echter geen stemrecht.}}

Around the same time, all settlements were also formally subordinated to the decisions of the Hanseatic League. Since then their representatives had the right to attend the Hanse meetings and to advocate for the interests of the Offices and their merchants. However, they had no voting rights {{harv|Wubs-Mrozewicz|2010|p=91}}.
}}
}} <!-- End of notelist template. -->

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Sources ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book
 |editor1-last= Bandle
 |editor1-first= Oskar
 |editor2-last= Braunmüller
 |editor2-first= Kurt
 |editor3-last= Jahr
 |editor3-first= Ernst Håkon
 |editor4-last= Karker
 |editor4-first= Allan
 |editor5-last= Nauman
 |editor5-first= Hans-Peter
 |editor6-last= Teleman
 |editor6-first= Ulf
 |title= The Nordic Languages: An International Handbook of the History of the North Germanic Languages
 |volume= 2
 |date= 2005
 |edition= 1st
 |type= hardcover
 |url= {{google books|plainurl=yes|id=6b7WwBC5tRAC}}
 |location= Berlin, New York
 |publisher= Walter de Gruyter
 |isbn= 978-3-1101-7149-5
 }}
* {{cite book
 |editor1-last= Brand
 |editor1-first= Hanno
 |editor2-last= Egge
 |editor2-first= Knol
 |title= Koggen, kooplieden en kantoren: de Hanze, een praktisch netwerk
 |language= nl
 |trans-title= Cogs, merchants and offices: the Hanze, a practical network
 |date= 2010
 |edition= 1
 |type= hardcover
 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=T5e68QReeykC
 |location= Hilversum & Groningen
 |publisher= Uitgeverij Verloren & Groninger Museum
 |isbn= 978-90-8704-165-6
 |archive-date= 12 July 2024
 |access-date= 11 January 2023
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240712030955/https://books.google.com/books?id=T5e68QReeykC
 |url-status= live
 }}
* {{cite book
 |editor-last= Harreld
 |editor-first= Donald J.
 |date= 2015
 |title= A Companion to the Hanseatic League
 |url= {{google books|plainurl=y|id=sfhyBgAAQBAJ}}
 |series= Brill's Companions to European History
 |language= en
 |location= Leiden, Boston
 |publisher= Brill
 |isbn= 978-90-04-28288-9
 }}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
* {{Cite web |last=Brand |first=Hanno |date=2006 |title=Baltic Sea Trade: Baltic Connections |url=http://www.balticconnections.net/index.cfm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418002846/http://www.balticconnections.net/index.cfm |archive-date=18 April 2015 |access-date=30 May 2015 |publisher=Hanse Research Center}}
* {{Cite book |last=Colvin |first=Ian D. |url=https://archive.org/details/germansinengland00colvuoft |title=The Germans in England: 1066–1598 |publisher=The National Review Office |year=1915 |location=London}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Dollinger |first1=Philippe |title=The German Hansa |last2=Ault |first2=D. S. |last3=Steinberg |first3=S. H. |last4=Dollinger |first4=Philippe |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-415-19073-2 |series=The rise of international business |location=London |pages=341–43}}
* {{Cite book |last=Gade |first=John A. |title=The Hanseatic Control of Norwegian Commerce During the Middle Ages |publisher=[[E.J. Brill]] |year=1951 |location=Leiden}}
* {{Cite magazine |last=Halliday |first=Stephen |date=July 2009 |title=The First Common Market? The Hanseatic League |url=https://www.historytoday.com/archive/first-common-market-hanseatic-league |magazine=[[History Today]] |pages=31–37 |volume=59 |issue=7}}
* {{Cite book |last=Israel |first=Jonathan I. |title=The Dutch Republic: Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall, 1477-1806 |date=1995 |publisher=[[Clarendon Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-873072-9 |series=The Oxford history of early modern Europe |location=Oxford}}
* {{Cite book |last=Magnusson |first=Lars |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iuWFAgAAQBAJ |title=An Economic History of Sweden |date=2000 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-134-67596-8 |editor-last=Magnusson |editor-first=Lars |series=Routledge explorations in economic history |location=London; New York}}
* {{Cite book |last=Meier |first=Dirk |title=Seafarers, Merchants and Pirates in the Middle Ages |publisher=[[Boydell Press]] |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-84383-512-7 |location=Woodbridge |oclc=427612409}}
* {{Cite book |last=Nash |first=Elizabeth Gee |url=https://archive.org/details/hansa0000nash |title=The Hansa: Its History and Romance |publisher=[[Barnes & Noble]] |year=1995 |isbn=978-1-56619-867-7 |location=New York |orig-date=1929}}
* {{Cite book |last=Nedkvitne |first=Arnved |url=https://www.hansischergeschichtsverein.de/file/qud70_volltext_hq.pdf |title=The German Hansa and Bergen 1100 - 1600 |publisher=[[Böhlau Verlag]] |year=2013 |isbn=978-3-412-21682-5 |series=Quellen und Darstellungen zur Hansischen Geschichte |location=Köln Weimar Wien |archive-date=19 February 2025 |access-date=17 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250219090448/https://www.hansischergeschichtsverein.de/file/qud70_volltext_hq.pdf |url-status=dead }}
* {{Cite book |last=Schulte Beerbühl |first=Margrit |url=http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0159-2011121210 |title=Networks of the Hanseatic League |publisher=[[Institute of European History]] |year=2012 |location=Mainz |access-date=24 January 2012}}
* {{Cite book |last=Thompson |first=James Westfall |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.55855 |title=Economic and Social History of Europe in the Later Middle Ages (1300–1530) |publisher=[[Frederick Ungar Publishing Company]] |year=1931 |location=New York |pages=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.55855/page/n156 146]–79 |asin=B000NX1CE2}}
* {{Cite book |title=The Hanse in Medieval and Early Modern Europe |date=2013 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]] |isbn=978-90-04-21252-7 |editor-last=Wubs-Mrozewicz |editor-first=Justyna |series=The Northern world |location=Leiden; Boston |editor-last2=Jenks |editor-first2=Stuart}}
* {{Cite book |last=Zimmern |first=Helen |url=https://archive.org/details/hansatowns03zimmgoog |title=The Hansa Towns |date=1889 |publisher=[[T. Fisher Unwin]] |edition=London |series=[[The Story of the Nations]]}}

===Historiography===
* {{Cite book |last=Cowan |first=Alexander |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E4s5hkes75kC |title=Hanseatic League: Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide |date=2010 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-980958-5 |location=Oxford}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Harrison |first=Gordon Scott |date=May 1971 |title=The Hanseatic League in Historical Interpretation |journal=[[The Historian (journal)|The Historian]] |volume=33 |issue=3 |pages=385–397 |doi=10.1111/j.1540-6563.1971.tb01514.x |issn=0018-2370}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Szepesi |first=Istvan |date=June 2015 |title=Reflecting the Nation: The Historiography of Hanseatic Institutions |journal=Waterloo Historical Review |volume=7 |doi=10.15353/whr.v7.33 |issn=2369-615X}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
{{Sister project links|voy=Hanseatic League}}
* [http://visitnovgorod.com/index.php?mmm=hanzadays 29th International Hansa Days in Novgorod]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100718114904/http://www.parnu2010.eu/index.php?id=1510&L=1 30th International Hansa Days 2010 in Pärnu-Estonia]
* [http://www.furthark.com/hanseaticleague/rsc_chronology.shtml Chronology of the Hanseatic League]
* [http://www.visithansaholland.com/ Hanseatic Cities in the Netherlands]
* [http://www.hanseatic-league.com/ Hanseatic League Historical Re-enactors] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071008100527/http://www.hanseatic-league.com/ |date=8 October 2007 }}
* [http://www.hanse.org/ Hanseatic Towns Network]
* [[s:de:Hanse|Hanseatic League related sources in the German Wikisource]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070930185346/http://www.gresham.ac.uk/event.asp?PageId=45&EventId=596 Colchester: a Hanseatic port]&nbsp;– Gresham
* [http://sites.google.com/site/suttonarchaeology/sea-trade The Lost Port of Sutton: Maritime trade]

{{Hanseatic League}}
{{History of Europe}}
{{Gdańsk}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Hanseatic League| ]]
[[Category:Northern Europe]]
[[Category:Former monopolies]]
[[Category:Trade monopolies]]
[[Category:Early modern history of the Holy Roman Empire]]
[[Category:Former confederations]]
[[Category:Early modern history of Germany]]
[[Category:Early modern history of the Netherlands]]
[[Category:Economy of the Holy Roman Empire]]
[[Category:Economic history of the Netherlands]]
[[Category:Economic history of Russia]]
[[Category:History of international trade]]
[[Category:Free imperial cities|*Hanseatic League]]
[[Category:International trade organizations]]
[[Category:Baltic Sea]]
[[Category:Brandenburg–Prussia]]
[[Category:Gotland]]
[[Category:Guilds]]
[[Category:Northern Renaissance]]
[[Category:History of Scandinavia]]
[[Category:History of the Baltic states]]
[[Category:Medieval history of Poland]]
[[Category:1862 disestablishments in Europe]]
[[Category:14th century in Europe]]
[[Category:15th century in Europe]]
[[Category:16th century in Europe]]
[[Category:Medieval history of Germany]]
[[Category:12th-century establishments in Europe]]