A 4.40 krooni Estonian stamp, issued in 2002 to commemorate the 700th anniversary of the granting of Lübeck Law to Rakvere; the Law was effectively a municipal constitution that gave power to a council (Rat) of merchants. The following is from the Estonian Philately site:
On 12 June 1302, King Eric Menved of Denmark granted the Lübeck Charter to the town of Rakvere (German: Wesenberg) in lands then under Danish rule in northern Estonia, giving it the right to independently regulate important aspects of community life.
The stamp features the old aurochs-head coat-of-arms of Rakvere on the background of a 15th century certificate issued by the municipality, with the present coat-of arms shown in the upper right-hand corner.
Many, but evidently not all, cities with Lübeck rights joined the Hansa; there seems to be some discrepancy with regard to Rakvere (or Wesenberg, as it was then known). It clearly had links with the Hansa, but was it a member? Information welcome. Thanks to Trishka for the stamp.
Lüneburg lies on the Ilmenau River, a tributary of the Elbe, and in an area rich in salt deposts. Henry the Lion granted city status in 1189 and with it the monopoly for the extraction of salt in northern Germany. The salt was in demand for preserving Baltic fish, and Lüneburg prospered, becoming an early member of the Hansa. The Salzstraße was originally an overland route but the Stecknitz Canal was opened in 1398, allowing transport by Kogge.
Tartu in southern Estonia was settled from the 5th century. The crusading Livonian Knights took the town finally in 1224, establishing a bishopric, and, by the time of an attack by Dmitri of Novgorod (son of Alexander Nevsky) in 1262, a settlement of German merchants and artisans had developed. Tartu (or Dorpat at the time) joined the Hanseatic League in the 1280s.
Webcam (town hall square)
The Rathaus (1405) and the figure of Roland in Bremen were awarded Unesco WHS status in 2004. Roland was a figure of chivalric literature in mediæval Europe and in Germany became a defiant symbol of the independence of the growing cities and their prosperity through trade.
An earlier wooden Roland existed in Bremen but was burnt in 1366; the stone figure (5.5m tall) was erected in 1404. Roland is made of limestone, and in his younger days he was more colourfully painted; and his head is now a replica, with the original reposing in the Focke Museum.
Bremen also has a few odd customs.
Bremen, a port city on the Weser, was a free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire with long-standing trade links with Norway, England and the Netherlands. Bremen had a long but uneasy relationship with the Hansa, with four separate periods of membership (1260 to 1285, 1358 to 1427, 1438 to 1563 and 1576 to 1669) and many points of conflict with the other members.
Koggen (cog ships, the workhorses of the Hansa) were built at Bremen, though the Weser was not always navigable for Koggen and cargoes sometimes had to be unloaded to other vessels. In 1560 the Bremen fleet comprised some 65 vessels. A well-preserved Bremen Kogge from 1380 was found in 1962 and joined the collection of the Deutsches Schiffahrtsmuseum in Bremerhaven.
See also Der Bremer Roland. Thanks again to Claus for these splendid cards.
Ancient Wrocław was founded on an island in the Odra/Oder, at the intersection of two trade routes: the Amber Road (Bernsteinstraße/Jantarowy Szlak) linking the Baltic to the Adriatic, and the east-west Via Regia linking the Rhine with Silesia. It flourished as a trade town and by the 14th century, markets were held on Thursday and Saturdays and there were three annual trade fairs, on St John’s Day, St Elizabeth’s Day and in October. Merchants came from the Baltic, the Netherlands, Germany and Italy, and furs and hemp from the east were traded for finished textiles and luxuries from the west.
Wrocław was a member of the Hanseatic League from 1387 to 1515, although the city did not derive much benefit from the association and its active participation ended in 1474 as the Hansa’s influence declined and independent trade circles were formed, with connections to Leipzig, Nuremberg and Augsburg (none of which had been in the Hansa.)
Hamelin, which grew up on the banks of the Weser around a monastery founded c850, was a late and minor member of the Hansa from 1426 to 1572. It is of course much better known for the famous story of the Pied Piper, which is said to have happened (in some form or other) on 26 June 1284.
Hasselt near Zwolle in Overijssel was granted city rights in 1252 and joined the Hansa in 1350. Its location at the confluence of the Zwartewater and Overijsselse Vecht and the right to hold weekly markets and annual fairs led to a period of prosperity centred around shipbuilding, weaving and later limekilns, which date from around 1500 and were in use until the 1990s. The video is here.
Kampen, lying onthe IJssel river, became an important Hansa centre for cargo in the 12th and 13th centuries. There’s a video here (showing also a Kogge ship under sail.)
The Hansestadt Lüneburg was built on the salt trade, as the “white gold” was mined nearby; salt was a fundamental commodity of the Hansa trade as it was needed to preserve the fish traded all over the Baltic. The Old Salt Route led from Lüneburg to Lübeck, crossing the Elbe at Launenburg (top left picture). From 1398 the Stecknitz Canal, between the Elbe and the Trave rivers passing via Mölln (bottom right), facilitated transport by water to Lübeck. The canal was replaced in 1900 by the Elbe-Lübeck Canal, which followed a similar route. (Thanks again to Claus).
Two historic churches in Stade, St Wilhadi (13th-14th century) and St Cosmae (13th-17th century), both substantially rebuilt after the devastating fire of 1659. See more about the churches here, and also the other Stade cards.
Stade was incorporated as a town in 1209 and was a founding and prominent member of the Hansa until the 17th century. It came under Swedish rule from 1645 to 1712, serving as the capital of the Swedish province of Bremen-Verden-Wildeshausen. In 1659 a fire destroyed 60% of the city. Thanks to Claus for these very suitable cards.
Erfurt was an important ecclesiastical and university town in Thuringia, under control of the Archbishops of Mainz, but in the 13th and 14th centuries power gradually passed from the archbishops to the town council, and an alliance was formed with Nordhausen and Mühlhausen; all three joined the Goslar union within the Hanse in 1481.
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There’s a board game called Hansa, in which you are a merchant sailing the Baltic trying to set up markets and sell things. You can play it online at the designer Michael Schacht’s website.
There’s also an online quiz – I scored 17/20.
Zwolle was founded by Frisian merchants on a hill surrounded by four rivers – the IJssel, Vecht, Aa and Zwarte Water. City status came in 1230 and Zwolle became a member of the Hansa in 1294. It participated in the war between the League and Denmark (1361-1370) and in the Treaty of Stralsund was granted a trade colony in Scania in southern Sweden. The town flourished during the 15th century.
An ancient Livonian settlement existed at the juntion of the Daugava and Ridzene rivers, on the site of modern Riga. The city was founded in the 12th century when German traders, missionaries and knights arrived. A German trading post was established in 1158, and in 1282 Riga became a member of the Hansa.
Göttingen was established as a town in the 12th century, on trade routes on the Leine river, and grew in economic importance over the next century. The textile industry, in both linen and wool, was most important, and, having forged links with Lübeck, Frankfurt am Main and the Netherlands, it was invited to join the Hanseatic League in 1351. Göttingen maintained a distance from the League, however, only becoming a full member in 1426, and withdrawing in 1572.
The old town is an island in the river Trave; it’s the biggest German port on the Baltic. See also the other cards.
Pärnu (Pernau) was founded in 1251, and soon after Neu-Pernau and an Ordensburg (fortification) were established nearby by the Livonian Order, a branch of the Teutonic Order of Knights. The town became an important member of the Hanseatic League, with its ice-free harbour providing access to Livonia.
Wismar, a small Baltic port 45km from Lübeck, was one of the original members of the Hansa, having entered into partnership with Lübeck, Hamburg, Stralsund and Rostock in 1259. Wismar, together with Stralsund, is a UNESCO world heritage site.
The Elbe River rises on the Czech-Polish border and flows north-westwards to debouch at Cuxhaven, 100km downriver from Hamburg. Its navigable stretches were a key transport route for the Hansestädte along its route, and along its tributaries.
A document dated 1192 indicates that Novgorod was trading with Western Europe by that date. Some tensions obviously existed between the Russian and German traders but the Treaty of Niburov in 1392 paved the way for prosperous trade, especially with Lübeck. A German court, the Peterhof, which served as a principal Kontore for the Hansa, was established in Novgorod, as Novgorod established courts in Riva, Tartu and Tallinn (Reval).
The primary exports to the west were furs (squirrel, beaver, ermine, marten and ferret), wax and leathers.
Novgorod will host the 2009 International Hanseatic Days in 2009, 18-21 June.
Initially established as a tiny fishing village on Leine river, at the crossing of two trade routes, Hanover was made a borough in 1241 and by the end of the 14th century was prospering as a merchant town and a member of the Hanse. At the time the population was about 4000.
